Request By:
Mr. Kennedy Helm, Jr.
Stites & Harbison
600 West Main Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Your firm represents the Regional Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County, an "air board" operated pursuant to KRS 183.132 et seq. Your questions broadly relate to whether the Authority may render emergency crash-fire rescue service on property (formerly a part of Standiford Field, which is operated by the Authority) now utilized by the United Parcel Service in the conduct of a large parcel delivery service by air. The property is owned by KYLOU, Inc., a subsidiary or affiliate of the United Parcel Service.
Your letter reads in part:
"The Federal Aviation Administration, by 14 CFR, § 139.41 and § 139.49, requires the Authority to have available 'during air carrier user operations' certain fire-fighting and rescue personnel and equipment. In accordance with this regulation, the Authority maintains on Standiford Field a 'Crash-Fire Rescue Unit' which is specially trained and equipped to deal with emergencies resulting from aircraft fires and/or crashes, as well as with spills of highly flammable liquids. The unit has four-wheel drive vehicles with foam dispensing equipment to respond, cross-country if necessary, to this type of emergency. The Authority's Crash-Fire Rescue Unit customarily makes monthly reports to the State Fire Marshall concerning its activities, similar to reports furnished by other fire departments.
"The United Parcel Service property is immediately adjacent to the east side of Standiford Field. The property was for the most part, before its sale by the Authority, a part of the Airport. It lies entirely within the city limits of Louisville, and contains among other things, large aircraft parking ramps which are utilized by aircraft involved in the United Parcel Service air parcel delivery operation. These aircraft land and take off on the regular runways at Standiford Field, and are normally fueled on the UPS ramps.
"The City of Louisville maintains a fire station adjacent to the southwest side of Standiford Field, which has direct access to the airport, but does not have foam equipped vehicles designed for use in aircraft emergencies. Representatives of the Louisville fire department have advised the Authority that they feel first response to aircraft emergencies should be rendered by the Authority, and they are willing to enter into an agreement to that effect.
"United Parcel Services has requested the Authority to provide emergency service which may be required by aircraft on its ramps.
Question No. 1:
"May the Authority enter into an agreement with the City of Louisville by which the Authority undertakes to render service on the United Parcel Service ramps, in the event of an aircraft fire or similar emergency or in the event of a spill of highly flammable liquids? "
The Regional Airport Authority of Louisville and Jefferson County, as an "air board", is a public or municipal corporation and an instrumentality of the Commonwealth. As a municipal corporation, it possesses only such powers as the constitution and statutes expressly or impliedly grant. See KRS 183.132, KRS 183.476, OAG 80-333, published, Banks-Baldwin, and City of Middlesboro v. Kentucky Utilities Co., 284 Ky. 833, 146 S.W.2d 48 (1940) 52. See also Padgett v. Louisville and Jefferson County Air Board (U.S.C.A. - 6, 1974) 492 F.2d 1258, 1259. The air board is by statute a body politic and corporate. It may contract and be contracted with and do all things reasonable or necessary to effectively carry out the duties prescribed by statute. KRS 183.132(2).
Thus the functions of such a municipality in the field of aviation are governmental in nature. Under the explicit language of KRS 183.476, the air board, i.e., the Authority, has the power, inter alia, to establish an airport and to maintain, equip and operate such airport. Implicit within that operational power is the authority to provide emergency crashfire rescue service to aircraft utilizing the airport runways. The aircraft of the United Parcel Service air parcel delivery operation is integrated with the operation of Standiford Field, since UPS aircraft land and take off on the regular runways at Standiford Field, although their aircraft are parked and normally fueled on the UPS ramps.
The City of Louisville cannot furnish foam equipped vehicles designed for use in such fire-crash emergencies. The statutory authority of the air board to provide such fire-fighting and rescue personnel and equipment for Standiford Field is clearly made out. UPS is utilizing Standiford in the landing and take off of its aircraft. Thus it is our opinion that the Authority may enter into an agreement with the City of Louisville by which the Authority undertakes to render such described emergency service to UPS aircraft which may be in trouble either on the Standiford runways or when they reach the UPS parking ramps. We consider, under the facts, that the UPS parking of their aircraft on its property is integral with the Standiford Field operation. See KRS 183.880, which provides that such airport board may establish a safety and security department and appoint safety and security officers and designate and operate emergency vehicles. Thus the fire-fighting and rescue personnel and equipment envisioned in the proposed contract is specifically authorized by that statute.
Considering that the City of Louisville's fire station is not fully equipped to deal with the fire-crash emergency or spill of highly flammable liquids, in the specific situation outlined, KRS 75.050 expressly permits the City of Louisville to enter into a contract with the Authority by which the Authority will undertake such emergency service involving UPS aircraft either on the Standiford Field runways or on the UPS ramps. In addition to this express authorization of such a contract by KRS 75.050, KRS 65.240 expressly permits any two or more public agencies of Kentucky to contract to do jointly what each can do alone. That fits the case here. However, in view of the formalities of KRS 65.240 et seq., including approval of the contract by the Attorney General under KRS 65.260, we wish to emphasize that KRS 75.050, standing alone, is sufficient authority for the contract. In such situation, the specific statute, KRS 75.050, would control over the general statute, KRS 65.240. In Heady v. Com., Ky., 597 S.W.2d 613 (1980) 614, the Supreme Court of Kentucky observed that the specific statute controls a more general statute, and that such rule of statutory construction is firmly established in the law of the Commonwealth. In simple language, the application of the interlocal statutes in this situation is not mandated, since KRS 75.050, standing alone, would suffice.
The State Property and Buildings Commission has approved the issuance of $160,000,000 Kentucky Development Finance Authority Airport Facilities Revenue Bonds for providing for capital expenditures relating to the air freight program of the United Parcel Service of America, Inc. The project, under the Bond documents, is situated at Standiford Field in Louisville, Kentucky. The project consists of airport facilities which will include a major air package hub building, with related facilities, including an additional aircraft ramp, and an aircraft hangar and major ground support equipment. The economic and tax implications of this project for Louisville and Jefferson County are obvious. The central point is that the project qualified as a "public purpose" under KRS 103.210 and is consistent with KRS 103.200 to 103.285, inclusive. This history is given to reflect the public purpose character of the UPS and to buttress the premise that the UPS air freight operation is indeed integral with the Standiford Field operation.
Question No. 2:
"If so, may the Authority charge United Parcel Service for the rendition of emergency service either for an annual fee, or on a per occasion basis?"
Clearly, the Code of Federal Regulations requires the airport to provide airport fire fighting and rescue equipment, meeting the applicable standards set forth in 14 CFR. See 14 CFR § 139.41, 139.49, 139.89, and 139.127.
It is our opinion that the Authority, as the air board, has the authority to establish and fix reasonable charges or fees, to be applied to UPS, for the rendition of such described emergency service, either for an annual fee, or on a per occasion basis. In a pragmatic sense, the proposed emergency service, and the reasonable charge to be made, emerges out of the use of the landing area and other common ground use, airport and aviation facilities, as described in KRS 183.133(2), (3) and (6), by the United Parcel Service. The Authority, City of Louisville, and UPS together should be able to work out a reasonable and equitable scheme of charges for the rendering of this emergency service. The power to impose reasonable charges for the emergency service is necessary to make effective express powers of the Authority. Reconstruction Finance Corp. v. City of Richmond, 249 Ky. 787, 61 S.W.2d 631 (1933); Miller v. City of Georgetown, 301 Ky. 241, 191 S.W.2d 403 (1945) 406; and American Airlines, Inc. v. Louisville & Jefferson C.A.B., (U.S.C.A. -6, 1959) 269 F.2d 811, 818.
In connection with any existing or future contracts involving landing fees (concerning the air board and UPS), and which would include the furnishing of emergency fire-crash service to UPS for stipulated fees, we feel that such provisions relating to the emergency service would be consistent with this opinion.