PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 414.
Congressional Research Service
Version 01 · Reported to Senate with amendment(s) · Jun 11, 2002
National Aviation Capacity Expansion Act of 2002 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement the redesign and reconstruction of Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Cook and Dupage Counties, Illinois, in accordance with a specified runway design plan, and the development of a south suburban airport in the Chicago metropolitan region, by facilitating their funding, construction, and implementation and all agency reviews. Subjects Administrator's actions and implementation of each plan to certain Federal environmental laws and FAA design criteria. Requires the State of Illinois to prepare an implementation plan under the Clean Air Act for regulating emissions associated with activity at commercial service airports.(Sec. 3) Prohibits the Administrator from approving the redesign plan if its implementation may increase the rate of runway incursions or degrade the safety of departing aircraft or the safety of arriving aircraft (including safety relating to the terminal approach control or the vectoring of aircraft from the contiguous enroute air-traffic airspace). Prohibits the Administrator's approval of an airport layout plan submitted by Chicago that includes the runway redesign plan, unless it includes public roadway access through the existing western boundary of O'Hare to passenger terminal and certain parking facilities.Declares that the Administrator's approval of an airport layout plan including the runway redesign plan shall require Chicago to offer acoustical treatment of all residential units and schools within the 65 DNL noise contour for each construction phase of the runway redesign plan. Conditions the Administrator's approval of such plan, also, on the achievement of specified annual noise impact reductions.Directs the Administrator to give priority consideration to letter of intent applications for the construction of the south suburban airport and for the extension of the main runway at the Gary/Chicago Airport.Directs the Administrator to submit a status report to specified congressional committees identifying each permit and approval necessary for the project if the runway redesign plan has not received all Federal, State, and local permits and approvals necessary to begin construction by December 31, 2004.Requires the withholding of all airport grant funds for O'Hare (other than grants involving national security and safety) until January 1, 2026, unless specified conditions with respect to operations at Merrill C. Meigs Field have been met.(Sec. 5) Directs the Administrator, in providing funds to implement the runway redesign plans, to receive adequate specified assurances from the City of Chicago regarding competitive access to O'Hare by all air carriers.
People & committees
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · D–IL
Legislative record
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Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 414.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Hollings with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 107-161.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Hollings with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 107-161.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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