The Colorado Aeronautical Board (CAB) approved a second round of FY2021 state and locally-funded discretionary aviation grants for Colorado airports during their April 14, 2021 CAB meeting. The unanimous decision authorized the distribution of an additional $2 million in state aviation fuel tax revenues that support the Colorado Discretionary Aviation Grant (CDAG) Program administered by the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Division of Aeronautics.
The second round of funding was indirectly made possible by the passage of the American Rescue Plan signed into law on March 11th, 2021. The American Rescue Plan included $608 million allocated for 100 percent federal share for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants awarded this fiscal year. Because of these provisions, $2.1 million in state aviation funds originally earmarked for federal matching funds were reallocated to support state and locally funded airport improvement projects. These projects were previously programmed, but deferred last January due to reduced Division revenues.
In total, ten discretionary aviation grants were awarded, ranging in size from $25,000 to $400,000. The second round of state aviation funding supported a wide range of airport needs, including snow removal equipment, and airfield pavement maintenance and reconstruction projects.
A comprehensive listing of each individual airport grant award can be found here.
