FAA bill includes provision for port

The version of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act that passed in the U.S. House on Wednesday evening included a provision aimed at helping the Little Rock Port Authority.

Economic development efforts have been complicated by the location of a navigation aid that sits between two large parcels of Port Authority property.

With the navigation station moved, it would be easier to develop the 464 acres on either side of the device, officials say.

The Senate is expected to take up the legislation as early as this week.

Once the legislation is signed into law, the FAA would have 30 days to brief congressional committees “on the agreement between the FAA and the Little Rock Port Authority to relocate the Little Rock Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range with Collated Tactical Air Control and Navigation.”

The navigational equipment is in a remote area between the port and David D. Terry Lock and Dam and southeast of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.

The omnidirectional technology was developed after World War II and was widely installed in the 1950s, becoming the major navigation system for aircraft in the 1960s.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, had pushed to include the language in the bill. U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, has championed the proposal in the Senate.

“I am proud of the House for delivering a path for FAA modernization and appreciative that this bill includes my provision to advance the Little Rock Port’s effort to bring more economic growth to central Arkansas by freeing up land where the FAA’s VOR cone now sits. I am grateful to Senator Boozman for his partnership in ensuring FAA accountability and to see that the Little Rock Port has the opportunity to expand its property to promote economic development and job creation,” Hill said in a written statement.