I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 717

To amend title 49, United States Code, to regulate overflights of national

parks, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

Mr. DUNCAN (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr. OBERSTAR) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to regulate

overflights of national parks, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Parks Air

5 Tour Management Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the Federal Aviation Administration has

2 sole authority to control airspace over the United

3 States;

4 (2) the Federal Aviation Administration has the

5 authority to preserve, protect, and enhance the envi6 ronment by minimizing, mitigating, or preventing

7 the adverse effects of aircraft overflights of public

8 and tribal lands;

9 (3) the National Park Service has the respon10 sibility of conserving the scenery and natural and

11 historic objects and wildlife in national parks and of

12 providing for the enjoyment of the national parks in

13 ways that leave the national parks unimpaired for

14 future generations;

15 (4) the protection of tribal lands from aircraft

16 overflights is consistent with protecting the public

17 health and welfare and is essential to the mainte18 nance of the natural and cultural resources of In19 dian tribes;

20 (5) the National Parks Overflights Working

21 Group, composed of general aviation, commercial air

22 tour, environmental, and Native American represent23 atives, recommended that the Congress enact legisla24 tion based on the Group’s consensus work product;

25 and
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1 (6) this Act reflects the recommendations made

2 by that Group.

3 SEC. 3. AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NATIONAL

4 PARKS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401 of title 49, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘§ 40125. Overflights of national parks

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

10 ‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A commercial

11 air tour operator may not conduct commercial air

12 tour operations over a national park (including tribal

13 lands) except—

14 ‘‘(A) in accordance with this section;

15 ‘‘(B) in accordance with conditions and

16 limitations prescribed for that operator by the

17 Administrator; and

18 ‘‘(C) in accordance with any applicable air

19 tour management plan for the park.

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR21 ITY.—

22 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Before

23 commencing commercial air tour operations

24 over a national park (including tribal lands), a

25 commercial air tour operator shall apply to the
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1 Administrator for authority to conduct the op2 erations over the park.

3 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR LIMITED

4 CAPACITY PARKS.—Whenever an air tour man5 agement plan limits the number of commercial

6 air tour operations over a national park during

7 a specified time frame, the Administrator, in

8 cooperation with the Director, shall issue oper9 ation specifications to commercial air tour oper10 ators that conduct such operations. The oper11 ation specifications shall include such terms and

12 conditions as the Administrator and the Direc13 tor find necessary for management of commer14 cial air tour operations over the park. The Ad15 ministrator, in cooperation with the Director,

16 shall develop an open competitive process for

17 evaluating proposals from persons interested in

18 providing commercial air tour operations over

19 the park. In making a selection from among

20 various proposals submitted, the Administrator,

21 in cooperation with the Director, shall consider

22 relevant factors, including—

23 ‘‘(i) the safety record of the person

24 submitting the proposal or pilots employed

25 by the person;
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1 ‘‘(ii) any quiet aircraft technology pro2 posed to be used by the person submitting

3 the proposal;

4 ‘‘(iii) the experience of the person sub5 mitting the proposal with commercial air

6 tour operations over other national parks

7 or scenic areas;

8 ‘‘(iv) the financial capability of the

9 company;

10 ‘‘(v) any training programs for pilots

11 provided by the person submitting the pro12 posal; and

13 ‘‘(vi) responsiveness of the person

14 submitting the proposal to any relevant

15 criteria developed by the National Park

16 Service for the affected park.

17 ‘‘(C) NUMBER OF OPERATIONS AUTHOR18 IZED.—In determining the number of author19 izations to issue to provide commercial air tour

20 operations over a national park, the Adminis21 trator, in cooperation with the Director, shall

22 take into consideration the provisions of the air

23 tour management plan, the number of existing

24 commercial air tour operators and current level

25 of service and equipment provided by any such
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1 operators, and the financial viability of each

2 commercial air tour operation.

3 ‘‘(D) COOPERATION WITH NPS.—Before

4 granting an application under this paragraph,

5 the Administrator, in cooperation with the Di6 rector, shall develop an air tour management

7 plan in accordance with subsection (b) and im8 plement such plan.

9 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a commercial air

11 tour operator secures a letter of agreement

12 from the Administrator and the superintendent

13 for the national park that describes the condi14 tions under which the commercial air tour oper15 ation will be conducted, then notwithstanding

16 paragraph (1), the commercial air tour operator

17 may conduct such operations over the national

18 park under part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal

19 Regulations, if such activity is permitted under

20 part 119 of such title.

21 ‘‘(B) LIMIT ON EXCEPTIONS.—Not more

22 than 5 flights in any 30-day period over a sin23 gle national park may be conducted under this

24 paragraph.
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1 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR SAFETY REQUIRE2 MENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), an exist3 ing commercial air tour operator shall apply, not

4 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of

5 this section, for operating authority under part 119,

6 121, or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.

7 A new entrant commercial air tour operator shall

8 apply for such authority before conducting commer9 cial air tour operations over a national park (includ10 ing tribal lands). The Administrator shall act on any

11 such application for a new entrant and issue a deci12 sion on the application not later than 24 months

13 after it is received or amended.

14 ‘‘(b) AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS.—

15 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in

17 cooperation with the Director, shall establish an

18 air tour management plan for any national park

19 (including tribal lands) for which such a plan is

20 not in effect whenever a person applies for au21 thority to conduct a commercial air tour oper22 ation over the park. The air tour management

23 plan shall be developed by means of a public

24 process in accordance with paragraph (4).
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1 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of any

2 air tour management plan shall be to develop

3 acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or

4 prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any,

5 of commercial air tours upon the natural and

6 cultural resources, visitor experiences, and trib7 al lands.

8 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION.—In

9 establishing an air tour management plan under this

10 subsection, the Administrator and the Director shall

11 each sign the environmental decision document re12 quired by section 102 of the National Environmental

13 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) (including a

14 finding of no significant impact, an environmental

15 assessment, and an environmental impact statement)

16 and the record of decision for the air tour manage17 ment plan.

18 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—An air tour management

19 plan for a national park—

20 ‘‘(A) may limit or prohibit commercial air

21 tour operations;

22 ‘‘(B) may establish conditions for the con23 duct of commercial air tour operations, includ24 ing commercial air tour operation routes, maxi25 mum or minimum altitudes, time-of-day restric-
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1 tions, restrictions for particular events, maxi2 mum number of flights per unit of time, intru3 sions on privacy on tribal lands, and mitigation

4 of adverse noise, visual, or other impacts;

5 ‘‘(C) may apply to all commercial air tour

6 operations;

7 ‘‘(D) shall include incentives (such as pre8 ferred commercial air tour operation routes and

9 altitudes and relief from flight caps and cur10 fews) for the adoption of quiet aircraft tech11 nology by commercial air tour operators con12 ducting commercial air tour operations over the

13 park;

14 ‘‘(E) shall provide a system for allocating

15 opportunities to conduct commercial air tours if

16 the air tour management plan includes a limita17 tion on the number of commercial air tour oper18 ations for any time period; and

19 ‘‘(F) shall justify and document the need

20 for measures taken pursuant to subparagraphs

21 (A) through (E) and include such justifications

22 in the record of decision.

23 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURE.—In establishing an air tour

24 management plan for a national park (including
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1 tribal lands), the Administrator and the Director

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(A) hold at least one public meeting with

4 interested parties to develop the air tour man5 agement plan;

6 ‘‘(B) publish the proposed plan in the Fed7 eral Register for notice and comment and make

8 copies of the proposed plan available to the

9 public;

10 ‘‘(C) comply with the regulations set forth

11 in sections 1501.3 and 1501.5 through 1501.8

12 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (for

13 purposes of complying with the regulations, the

14 Federal Aviation Administration shall be the

15 lead agency and the National Park Service is a

16 cooperating agency); and

17 ‘‘(D) solicit the participation of any Indian

18 tribe whose tribal lands are, or may be,

19 overflown by aircraft involved in a commercial

20 air tour operation over the park, as a cooperat21 ing agency under the regulations referred to in

22 subparagraph (C).

23 ‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An air tour manage24 ment plan developed under this subsection shall be

25 subject to judicial review.
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1 ‘‘(6) AMENDMENTS.—The Administrator, in co2 operation with the Director, may make amendments

3 to an air tour management plan. Any such amend4 ments shall be published in the Federal Register for

5 notice and comment. A request for amendment of an

6 air tour management plan shall be made in such

7 form and manner as the Administrator may pre8 scribe.

9 ‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR

10 OPERATION STATUS.—In making a determination of

11 whether a flight is a commercial air tour operation, the

12 Administrator may consider—

13 ‘‘(1) whether there was a holding out to the

14 public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing flight

15 for compensation or hire;

16 ‘‘(2) whether a narrative that referred to areas

17 or points of interest on the surface below the route

18 of the flight was provided by the person offering the

19 flight;

20 ‘‘(3) the area of operation;

21 ‘‘(4) the frequency of flights conducted by the

22 person offering the flight;

23 ‘‘(5) the route of flight;
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1 ‘‘(6) the inclusion of sightseeing flights as part

2 of any travel arrangement package offered by the

3 person offering the flight;

4 ‘‘(7) whether the flight would have been can5 celed based on poor visibility of the surface below

6 the route of the flight; and

7 ‘‘(8) any other factors that the Administrator

8 considers appropriate.

9 ‘‘(d) INTERIM OPERATING AUTHORITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application for oper11 ating authority, the Administrator shall grant in12 terim operating authority under this subsection to a

13 commercial air tour operator for commercial air tour

14 operations over a national park (including tribal

15 lands) for which the operator is an existing commer16 cial air tour operator.

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.—In18 terim operating authority granted under this

19 subsection—

20 ‘‘(A) shall provide annual authorization

21 only for the greater of—

22 ‘‘(i) the number of flights used by the

23 operator to provide such tours within the

24 12-month period prior to the date of enact25 ment of this section; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) the average number of flights per

2 12-month period used by the operator to

3 provide such tours within the 36-month pe4 riod prior to such date of enactment, and,

5 for seasonal operations, the number of

6 flights so used during the season or sea7 sons covered by that 12-month period;

8 ‘‘(B) may not provide for an increase in

9 the number of commercial air tour operations

10 conducted during any time period by the com11 mercial air tour operator above the number that

12 the air tour operator was originally granted un13 less such an increase is agreed to by the Ad14 ministrator and the Director;

15 ‘‘(C) shall be published in the Federal Reg16 ister to provide notice and opportunity for com17 ment;

18 ‘‘(D) may be revoked by the Administrator

19 for cause;

20 ‘‘(E) shall terminate 180 days after the

21 date on which an air tour management plan is

22 established for the park or the tribal lands;

23 ‘‘(F) shall promote protection of national

24 park resources, visitor experiences, and tribal

25 lands;
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1 ‘‘(G) shall promote safe operations of the

2 commercial air tour;

3 ‘‘(H) shall promote the adoption of quiet

4 technology, as appropriate; and

5 ‘‘(I) shall allow for modifications of the op6 eration based on experience if the modification

7 improves protection of national park resources

8 and values and of tribal lands.

9 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTIONS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by

11 paragraph (2), this section shall not apply to—

12 ‘‘(A) the Grand Canyon National Park;

13 ‘‘(B) tribal lands within or abutting the

14 Grand Canyon National Park; or

15 ‘‘(C) any unit of the National Park System

16 located in Alaska or any other land or water lo17 cated in Alaska.

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall apply to

19 the Grand Canyon National Park if section 3 of

20 Public Law 100–91 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1 note; 101 Stat.

21 674–678) is no longer in effect.

22 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

23 definitions apply:
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1 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The

2 term ‘commercial air tour operator’ means any per3 son who conducts a commercial air tour operation.

4 ‘‘(2) EXISTING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERA5 TOR.—The term ‘existing commercial air tour opera6 tor’ means a commercial air tour operator that was

7 actively engaged in the business of providing com8 mercial air tour operations over a national park at

9 any time during the 12-month period ending on the

10 date of enactment of this section.

11 ‘‘(3) NEW ENTRANT COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR

12 OPERATOR.—The term ‘new entrant commercial air

13 tour operator’ means a commercial air tour operator

14 that—

15 ‘‘(A) applies for operating authority as a

16 commercial air tour operator for a national

17 park; and

18 ‘‘(B) has not engaged in the business of

19 providing commercial air tour operations over

20 the national park (including tribal lands) in the

21 12-month period preceding the application.

22 ‘‘(4) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATION.—The

23 term ‘commercial air tour operation’ means any

24 flight, conducted for compensation or hire in a pow25 ered aircraft where a purpose of the flight is sight-
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seeing over a national park, within 1 1 ⁄2 mile outside

2 the boundary of any national park, or over tribal

3 lands, during which the aircraft flies—

4 ‘‘(A) below a minimum altitude, deter5 mined by the Administrator in cooperation with

6 the Director, above ground level (except solely

7 for purposes of takeoff or landing, or necessary

8 for safe operation of an aircraft as determined

9 under the rules and regulations of the Federal

10 Aviation Administration requiring the pilot-in11 command to take action to ensure the safe op12 eration of the aircraft); or

13 ‘‘(B) less than 1 mile laterally from any

14 geographic feature within the park (unless more

than 1 15 ⁄2 mile outside the boundary).

16 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL PARK.—The term ‘national

17 park’ means any unit of the National Park System.

18 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘tribal lands’

19 means Indian country (as that term is defined in

20 section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) that is

21 within or abutting a national park.

22 ‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis23 trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia24 tion Administration.
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1 ‘‘(8) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means

2 the Director of the National Park Service.’’.

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

4 for chapter 401 of title 49, United States Code, is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following:

‘‘40125. Overflights of national parks.’’.

6 SEC. 4. ADVISORY GROUP.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator and

9 the Director shall jointly establish an advisory group to

10 provide continuing advice and counsel with respect to com11 mercial air tour operations over and near national parks.

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory group shall be

14 composed of—

15 (A) a balanced group of—

16 (i) representatives of general aviation;

17 (ii) representatives of commercial air

18 tour operators;

19 (iii) representatives of environmental

20 concerns; and

21 (iv) representatives of Indian tribes;

22 (B) a representative of the Federal Avia23 tion Administration; and

24 (C) a representative of the National Park

25 Service.
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1 (2) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Administrator

2 (or the designee of the Administrator) and the Di3 rector (or the designee of the Director) shall serve

4 as ex-officio members.

5 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The representative of the

6 Federal Aviation Administration and the representa7 tive of the National Park Service shall serve alter8 nating 1-year terms as chairman of the advisory

9 group, with the representative of the Federal Avia10 tion Administration serving initially until the end of

11 the calendar year following the year in which the ad12 visory group is first appointed.

13 (c) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall provide ad14 vice, information, and recommendations to the Adminis15 trator and the Director—

16 (1) on the implementation of this Act and the

17 amendments made by this Act;

18 (2) on commonly accepted quiet aircraft tech19 nology for use in commercial air tour operations over

20 national parks (including tribal lands), which will re21 ceive preferential treatment in a given air tour man22 agement plan;

23 (3) on other measures that might be taken to

24 accommodate the interests of visitors to national

25 parks; and
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1 (4) at request of the Administrator and the Di2 rector, safety, environmental, and other issues relat3 ed to commercial air tour operations over a national

4 park (including tribal lands).

5 (d) COMPENSATION; SUPPORT; FACA.—

6 (1) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL.—Members of

7 the advisory group who are not officers or employees

8 of the United States, while attending conferences or

9 meetings of the group or otherwise engaged in its

10 business, or while serving away from their homes or

11 regular places of business, may be allowed travel ex12 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as

13 authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States

14 Code, for persons in the Government service em15 ployed intermittently.

16 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Federal

17 Aviation Administration and the National Park

18 Service shall jointly furnish to the advisory group

19 clerical and other assistance.

20 (3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—Section 14 of

21 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

22 App.) does not apply to the advisory group.

23 SEC. 5. REPORTS.

24 (a) OVERFLIGHT FEE REPORT.—Not later than 180

25 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
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1 trator shall transmit to Congress a report on the effects

2 overflight fees are likely to have on the commercial air

3 tour operation industry. The report shall include, but shall

4 not be limited to—

5 (1) the viability of a tax credit for the commer6 cial air tour operators equal to the amount of any

7 overflight fees charged by the National Park Service;

8 and

9 (2) the financial effects proposed offsets are

10 likely to have on Federal Aviation Administration

11 budgets and appropriations.

12 (b) QUIET AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY REPORT.—Not

13 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act,

14 the Administrator and the Director shall jointly transmit

15 a report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act in

16 providing incentives for the development and use of quiet

17 aircraft technology.

18 SEC. 6. EXEMPTIONS.

19 This Act shall not apply to—

20 (1) any unit of the National Park System lo21 cated in Alaska; or

22 (2) any other land or water located in Alaska.

23 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

24 In this Act, the following definitions apply:
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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

3 Aviation Administration.

4 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

5 the Director of the National Park Service.

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