(a) Site Approvals; Regulations; Issuance of Certificates; No Fees; Standards; Effective Period; Revocation; Existing Airports.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (d), the department is authorized to provide for the approval of airport sites and the issuance of certificates of approvals. No charge shall be made for any approval, and certificates of approval shall be issued without charge to all persons requesting them. Upon the promulgation of a rule or regulation providing for approvals, any municipality or person desiring or planning to construct or establish an airport may, prior to the acquisition of the site or prior to the construction or establishment of the proposed airport, make application to the department for approval of the site. The department shall with reasonable dispatch grant approval of a site if it is satisfied that:

(A) The site is adequate for the proposed airport;

(B) The proposed airport, if constructed or established, will conform to minimum standards of safety; and

(C) Safe air traffic patterns could be worked out for the proposed airport and for all existing airports and approved airport sites in its vicinity.

(2) An approval of a site may be granted subject to any reasonable conditions that the department may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section, and shall remain in effect, unless sooner revoked by the department, until a license for an airport located on the approved site has been issued pursuant to subsection (b). The department may, after notice and opportunity for hearing to holders of certificates of an approval, revoke an approval if it reasonably determines that:

(A) There has been an abandonment of the site as an airport site;

(B) There has been a failure within the time prescribed, or if no time was prescribed, within a reasonable time, to develop the site as an airport or to comply with the conditions of the approval; or

(C) Because of change of physical or legal conditions or circumstances the site is no longer usable for the aeronautical purposes for which the approval was granted.

(3) No approval or certificate shall be required for the site of any existing airport; provided, that all applications for licenses to construct airports in counties having a population in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000), according to the 1950 federal census, have been previously approved by all municipal agencies, located in the counties, controlling or regulating airports located in the county.

(b) Licenses; Regulations; Issuance; Renewals; Fees; Standards; Revocation; Unlawful Operation. Except as provided in subsection (d), the department is authorized to provide for the licensing of airports and the annual renewal of licenses. It may charge license fees not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each original license, and not exceeding ten dollars ($10.00) for each renewal of a license. Upon the promulgation of a rule or regulation providing for licensing, the department shall with reasonable dispatch, upon receipt of an application for an original license and the payment of the duly required fee for the license, issue an appropriate license if it is satisfied that the airport conforms to minimum standards of safety, and that safe air traffic patterns can be worked out for the airport and for all existing airport and approved airport sites in its vicinity. All licenses shall be renewable annually upon payment of the fees prescribed. Licenses and renewals thereof may be issued subject to any reasonable conditions that the department may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. The department may, after notice and opportunity for hearing to the licensee, revoke any license or renewal thereof, or refuse to issue a renewal, if it reasonably determines that:

(1) There has been an abandonment of the airport as such;

(2) There has been a failure to comply with the conditions of the license or renewal thereof; or

(3) Because of change of physical or legal conditions or circumstances the airport has become either unsafe or unusable for the aeronautical purposes for which the license or renewal was issued. Except as provided in subsection (d), it is unlawful for any municipality, or officer, or employee thereof, or any person to operate an airport without an appropriate license for the airport, as may be duly required by rule or regulation issued pursuant to this subsection (b).

(c) Optional Public Hearings. In connection with the grant of approval of a proposed airport site or the issuance of an airport license under subsections (a) and (b), the department may, on its own motion or upon the request of an affected or interested person, hold a hearing open to the public as provided in § 42-2-212.

(d) Exemptions. This section does not apply to airports owned or operated by the United States. The department may, from time to time, to the extent necessary, exempt any other class of airports, pursuant to a reasonable classification or grouping, from any rule or regulation promulgated under this section or from any requirement of such a rule or regulation, if it finds that the application of the rule, regulation or requirement would be an undue burden on such class and is not required in the interest of public safety.