Sep. 29--The executive director of the Rapid City Regional Airport expressed concern this week over the looming loss of state funding for South Dakota's public airports.

Cuts in state funding for airport construction projects were approved Tuesday by the South Dakota Aeronautics Commission. Rapid City airport Executive Director Patrick Dame said Wednesday that the cuts stand not only to affect airports themselves but local economic development efforts as well.

"We need that state investment in our air transportation system," he said.

At Tuesday's meeting, the commission voted to decrease the state's contributions to the federal airport improvement program beginning in 2021. Projects that are eligible for the program have to involve the enhancement of airport safety, capacity, security or environmental concerns, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's website.

South Dakota airports that successfully apply for the program receive approximately 90% of the funding for such projects from FAA grants. The remaining 10% of costs had for years been split evenly between local airport sponsors and the state.

Starting in federal fiscal year 2021, however, the state will pay for only 3.5% of project costs. The difference will have to be made up locally.

According to state Deputy Secretary of Transportation Joel Jundt, the cuts can be attributed to South Dakota's aeronautic fund spending more than it is making back in fuel sales and registration fees.

"Eliminating funds being spent on these types of improvements will help reduce the overall amount of expenses coming out of the fund," he said.

State documents show that the South Dakota Department of Transportation receives an average of $31.5 million in federal funding each year. If the state and local matching rates stay at their current level, the department estimates it would overspend on aeronautics by approximately $420,000 annually.

Jundt said Thursday that the commission has made several unsuccessful attempts to retrieve the $3 million that the state Legislature transferred out of the aeronautics fund in 2010 to balance a budget shortfall. He cautioned that even if the money were returned, it would not necessarily mean an end to the fund's revenue shortage.

"All that's going to do is push it down the road," he said.

South Dakota airports reaped about $1.9 million in state contributions through the improvement program in 2019, documents show. Total airport improvement project costs figured at approximately $39 million.

Dame said that it is too soon to tell what effect the cuts will have on the Rapid City airport. Moving forward, he said, it may be difficult for smaller airports in South Dakota that can't make up their increased share of costs to qualify for the federal program.

On Tuesday, the commission also voted to cease funding for the construction of airport hangars and fuel systems, both of which generate airport revenue. Dame said that such enterprises mostly benefited smaller airports and that the loss of state funding for them won't affect Rapid City.

The Rapid City airport in August was awarded a $4.56 million grant through the improvement program. According to FAA data, federal funding makes up approximately $4.35 million of that figure.

Much of the improvement grant will be spent on the renovation of the airport terminal. A total of 17 airports in South Dakota qualified for the program this year.

-- Contact Matthew Guerry at [email protected]

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