The nation's airports need to have access to a program that can provide authoritatively researched, specific, limited-scope studies of legal issues and problems having national significance and application to their business. A program meeting the need for dealing with legal problems arising from highway programs was inaugurated in 1969 under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. It has been maintained with continuation funding since that time with strong support and approval from the constituency it serves. Similarly, a transit legal research program was implemented in 1992 under the Transit Cooperative Research Program and has been continually funded since its inception. Such a legal research program would be beneficial to the Airport Cooperative Research Program.

The objective of this project is to provide legal research on topics of interest to the airport legal community based on periodic solicitations of potential topics. The project would produce an ACRP Legal Research Digest series of reports on legal issues associated with airport-related law. Each document would be intended to provide airport attorneys with authoritative, well-researched, specific information that is limited in scope. The studies would focus on legal issues and problems having national significance to the airport industry. Each year, numerous attorneys nationwide are involved in airport-related work; yet, there is no centralized collection of information on which they can depend. The ACRP Legal Research Digest series will provide airport-related legal research on a wide variety of legal topics.

Legal Research Digests published to date:

LRD No. 1         Compilation of Airport Law Resources (February 2008)

LRD No. 2         Theory and Law of Airport Revenue Diversion (June 2008)

LRD No. 3         Survey of Laws and Regulations of Airport Commercial Ground Transportation (July 2008)

LRD No. 4         Compilation of Digest-Parts 13 and 16 Determinations and Related Documents (November 2008) (Superseded by LRD 21)

LRD No. 5         Responsibility for Implementation and Enforcement of Airport Land-Use Zoning Restrictions (April 2009)

LRD No. 6         The Impact of Airline Bankruptcies on Airports (June 2009)

LRD No. 7         Airport Governance and Ownership (August 2009)

LRD No. 8         The Right to Self-Fuel (December 2009)

LRD No. 9         Case Studies on Community Challenges to Airport Development (July 2010)

LRD No.10       Analysis of Federal Laws, Regulations and Case Law Regarding Airport Proprietary Rights ( August 2010)

LRD No. 11       Survey of Minimum Standards: Commercial Aeronautical Activities at Airports (February 2011)

LRD No. 12       Fair Disclosure of Airport Impacts in Real Estate Transfers (November 2011) 

LRD No. 13       An Index and Digest of Decisions:  Compilation of Airport Law Resources (March 2012)

LRD No. 14       Achieving Airport-Compatible Land Uses and Minimizing Hazardous Obstructions in Navigable Airspace (April 2012)

LRD No. 15       Compilation of State Airport Authorizing Legislation (August 2012)

LRD No. 16       Procurement of Airport Development and Planning Contracts (September 2012)

LRD No. 17       State and Federal Regulations That May Affect Initiatives to Reduce Ariports' GHG Emissions (November 2012)

LRD No. 18       Buy America Requirements for Federally Funded Airports (February 2013

LRD No. 19       Legal Issues Related to Developing Safety Management Systems and Safety Risk Management at U.S. Airports (January 2013)

LRD No. 20       Airport Responsibility for Wildlife Management (July 2013)

LRD No. 21       Compilation of DOT and FAA Airport Legal Determinations and Opinion Letters Through December 2012 (supersedes LRD 4)

LRD No. 22       The Role of the Airport Sponsor in Airport Planning and Environmental Reviews of Proposed Development Projects Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and State Mini-NEPA Laws (April 2014)

LRD No. 23       A Guide for Compliance with Grant Agreement Obligations to Provide Reasonable Access to an AIP-Funded Public Use General Aviation Airport.

LRD No. 24       Sovereign Immunity for Public Airport Operators (April 2015)

LRD No. 25       Analysis of State Laws, Regulations, Case Law, and Survey of Existing Airport NPDES Permits Regarding Tenant-Operator Responsibilities under NPDES and Stormwater Management BMPs under Owner/Airport's Operating Permits (August 2015)

LRD No. 26      Regulations Affecting the Exercise of First Amendment Activities at Airports (August 2015)

LRD No. 27     Fourth Amendment and Airports

LRD No. 28     Operational and Legal Issues with Fuel Farms

LRD No. 29      Impact of Firearms Laws on Airports

LRD No. 30      Contract Risk Management for Airport

LRD No. 31     Preemption of Worker-Retention and Labor-Peace Agreements at Airports

LRD No. 32     Evolving Law on Airport Implications by Unmanned Aerial Systems

LRD No. 33     Overview of Airport Duties and Standards of Care in Airfield Accident Cases

LRD No. 34     Airport Public Health Preparedness & Response: Legal Rights, Powers & Duties

LRD No. 35     Legal Considerations in the Funding and Development of Intermodal Facilities 

Research in progress:

Topic 8-01      Legal Issues Related to the Implementation and Operation of Safety Management Systems at Airports

Topic 9-02      Legal Issues Relating to Airports Promoting Competition

Topic 9-03      Permitted Airport Involvement in Economic Development Efforts

Topic 10-01    Update of LRD 21

Topic 10-02    Legal Issues Relating to Large Scale Airport Construction Projects

Topic 10-03    Legal Issues Relating to Airport Commercial Contracts

Topic 10-04    Update of LRD 3 

Topic 11-01    Permissible Uses of Airport Revenue and Property

Under Development

Topic 11-02    Accommodation of Federal Agencies--Rights and Obligations of Host Airports

Topic 11-03    Analysis of Laws, Regulations and Case Laws Regarding Airport Customer Facility Charges