II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 905

To provide for the management of the airspace over units of the National

Park System, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 9 (legislative day, JUNE 5), 1995

Mr. AKAKA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To provide for the management of the airspace over units

of the National Park System, 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 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Parks Air5 space Management Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Commercial air tour flights over units of the

9 National Park System (referred to in this Act as

10 ‘‘units’’) may have adverse effects on the units. The
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1 flights may degrade the experiences of visitors to the

2 affected areas and may have adverse effects on wild3 life and cultural resources in those areas. A signifi4 cant number of complaints about commercial air

5 tour flights over certain areas under the jurisdiction

6 of the National Park Service have been registered.

7 (2) Whereas resource preservation is the pri8 mary responsibility of the National Park Service, the

9 agency continues to struggle to develop a policy that

10 would achieve an acceptable balance between flights

11 over units by commercial air tour operators and the

12 protection of resources in the units and the experi13 ences of visitors to the units.

14 (3) Whereas the mission of the Federal Avia15 tion Administration is to develop and maintain a

16 safe and efficient system of air transportation while

17 considering the impact of aircraft noise, the agency

18 continues to have difficulty adequately controlling

19 commercial air tour flights over units.

20 (4) Significant and continuing concerns exist

21 regarding the safety of commercial air tour flights

22 over some units, including concerns for the safety of

23 occupants of the flights, visitors to those units, Fed24 eral employees at those units, and the general pub25 lic. The concern of the Congress over the effects of
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1 low-level flights on units led to the enactment, on

2 August 18, 1987, of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to re3 quire the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a

4 study to determine the appropriate minimum alti5 tude for aircraft flying over national park system

6 units’’ (Public Law 100–91; 101 Stat. 674; 16

7 U.S.C. 1a–1 note). The Act requires the Director to

8 identify problems associated with flights by aircraft

9 in the airspace over units.

10 (5) Pursuant to the Act referred to in para11 graph (4), on September 12, 1994, the Director sub12 mitted a report to Congress entitled ‘‘Report On Ef13 fects Of Aircraft Overflights On The National Park

14 System’’. The National Park Service report con15 cluded that, because the details of national park

16 overflights problems are park-specific, no single alti17 tude can be identified for the entire National Park

18 System. The National Park Service report presented

19 a number of recommendations for resolution of the

20 problem, including—

21 (A) the development of airspace and park

22 use resolution processes;

23 (B) the development of a single operational

24 rule to regulate air tour operations;
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1 (C) seeking continued improvements in

2 safety and interagency planning related to air3 space management; and

4 (D) the development of a Federal Aviation

5 Administration rule to facilitate preservation of

6 natural quiet.

7 (6) The policy of the National Park Service rec8 ognizes the importance of natural quiet as a re9 source to be conserved and protected in certain

10 units. The National Park Services defines natural

11 quiet as ‘‘the natural ambient sound conditions

12 found in certain units of the National Park Service’’

13 and recognizes that visitors to certain units may rea14 sonably expect quiet during their visits to those

15 units established with the specific goal of providing

16 visitors with an opportunity for solitude.

17 (7) The number of flights by aircraft over units

18 has increased rapidly since the date of enactment of

19 the Act referred to in paragraph (4) and, due to the

20 high degree of satisfaction expressed by air tour pas21 sengers, as well as the economic impact of air tour

22 operations on the tourist industry, the number of

23 flights will likely continue to increase. A progression

24 of aesthetic and safety concerns about low altitude

25 flights have been associated with growth in commer-
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1 cial air tour traffic. As the number of flights contin2 ues to increase, the likelihood exists that there will

3 be a concomitant increase in the number of conflicts

4 regarding management of the airspace over the

5 units.

6 (8) A need exists for a Federal policy to ad7 dress the conflicts and problems associated with

8 flights by commercial air tour aircraft in the air9 space over units. A statutory process should be es10 tablished to require the Secretary of Transportation

11 and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the

12 Director, to work together to mitigate the impact of

13 commercial air tour operations on units, or specific

14 areas within units that are adversely affected by

15 commercial air tour operations.

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

17 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions

18 shall apply:

19 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis20 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal

21 Aviation Administration.

22 (2) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘agreement’’

23 means an agreement entered into by a commercial

24 air tour operator, the Director, and the Adminis25 trator under section 4(h) that provides for the appli-
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1 cation of relevant provisions of an airspace manage2 ment plan for the unit concerned to the commercial

3 air tour operator.

4 (3) AIR TOUR AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘air tour

5 aircraft’’ means an aircraft (including a fixed-wing

6 aircraft or a rotorcraft) that makes air tour flights.

7 (4) AIR TOUR FLIGHT.—The term ‘‘air tour

8 flight’’ means a passenger flight conducted by air

9 tour aircraft for the purpose of permitting a pas10 senger to the flight to view an area over which the

11 flight occurs.

12 (5) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR AIRCRAFT.—The

13 term ‘‘commercial air tour aircraft’’ means any air

14 tour aircraft used by a commercial air tour operator

15 in providing air tour flights for hire to the public.

16 (6) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The

17 term ‘‘commercial air tour operator’’ means a com18 pany, corporation, partnership, individual, or other

19 entity that provides air tour flights for hire to the

20 public.

21 (7) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the

22 National Park Overflight Advisory Council estab23 lished under section 9.

24 (8) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

25 the Director of the National Park Service.
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1 (9) FLIGHT-FREE PARK.—The term ‘‘flight-free

2 park’’ means a unit over which commercial air tour

3 operations are prohibited.

4 (10) UNIT.—The term ‘‘unit’’ means a unit of

5 the National Park System.

6 SEC. 4. NATIONAL PARK AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT PLANS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the Adminis8 trator shall, in accordance with this section, develop and

9 establish a plan for the management of the airspace above

10 each unit that is affected by commercial air tour flights

11 to the extent that the Director considers the unit to be

12 a unit requiring an airspace management plan.

13 (b) PLAN PURPOSE.—The purpose of each plan de14 veloped under subsection (a) is to minimize the adverse

15 effects of commercial air tour flights on the resources of

16 a unit.

17 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT

18 PLANS.—

19 (1) TREATMENT OF RELEVANT EXPERTISE.—In

20 developing plans under subsection (a), the Adminis21 trator shall defer to the Director in matters relating

22 to the identification and protection of park re23 sources, and the Director shall defer to the Adminis24 trator in matters relating to the safe and efficient

25 management of airspace.
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1 (2) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.—In developing

2 a plan for a unit, the Director and the Adminis3 trator shall consider utilizing negotiated rulemaking

4 procedures as specified under subchapter III of

5 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, if the Di6 rector and the Administrator determine that the uti7 lization of those procedures is in the public interest.

8 (d) COMMENT ON PLANS.—In developing a plan for

9 a unit, the Director and the Administrator shall—

10 (1) ensure that there is sufficient opportunity

11 for public comment by air tour operators, environ12 mental organizations, and other concerned parties;

13 and

14 (2) give due consideration to the comments and

15 recommendations of the Council and the Federal

16 Interagency Airspace/Natural Resource Coordination

17 Group, or any successor organization to that entity.

18 (e) RESOLUTION OF PLAN INADEQUACIES.—If the

19 Director and the Administrator disagree with respect to

20 any portion of a proposed plan under subsection (a), the

21 Director and the Administrator shall refer the proposed

22 plan to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

23 of Transportation, and the Secretaries shall jointly resolve

24 the disagreement.
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1 (f) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF OVERFLIGHTS.—

2 The Director and the Administrator may jointly conduct

3 studies to ascertain the effects of low-level flights of com4 mercial air tour aircraft over units that the Director and

5 the Administrator consider necessary for the development

6 of plans under subsection (a).

7 (g) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Not less frequently than

8 every 5 years after the date of establishment of a plan

9 under subsection (a), the Director and the Administrator

10 shall review the plan. The purpose of the review shall be

11 to ensure that the plan continues to meet the purposes

12 for the plan. The Director and the Administrator may re13 vise a plan if they jointly determine, based on that review,

14 that the revision is advisable.

15 (h) FLIGHTS OVER UNITS COVERED BY PLANS.—

16 (1) AGREEMENT.—A commercial air tour oper17 ator may not conduct commercial air tour flights in

18 the airspace over a unit covered by an airspace man19 agement plan developed under subsection (a) unless

20 the commercial air tour operator enters into an

21 agreement with the Director and the Administrator

22 that authorizes such flights.

23 (2) CONTENTS.—An agreement under para24 graph (1) shall—
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1 (A) provide for the application of relevant

2 provisions of the airspace management plan for

3 the unit concerned to the commercial air tour

4 operator; and

5 (B) to the maximum extent practicable,

6 provide for the conduct of air tour flights by

7 the air tour operator in a manner that mini8 mizes the adverse effects of the air tour flights

9 on the environment of the unit.

10 SEC. 5. FLIGHT-FREE PARKS.

11 For units that, as of January 1, 1995, experienced

12 no overflights by commercial air tour operators, the Direc13 tor, in consultation with the Administrator, shall—

14 (1) prescribe criteria to identify units where air

15 tour flights by commercial air tour aircraft would be

16 incompatible with or injurious to the purposes and

17 values for which the units were established;

18 (2) identify any units that meet those criteria;

19 and

20 (3) designate those units as ‘‘flight-free park’’

21 units.

22 SEC. 6. SINGLE OPERATIONAL RULE FOR COMMERCIAL AIR

23 TOUR OPERATIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

25 (b), the Administrator, after notice and hearing on the
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1 record, shall issue a regulation governing the operation of

2 all air tour aircraft flights by commercial air tour opera3 tors over units.

4 (b) SEPARATE OPERATIONAL RULES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may pre6 scribe separate operational rules governing the con7 duct of flights by fixed-wing aircraft and by rotor8 craft if the Administrator determines under sub9 section (a) that separate rules are warranted.

10 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL RULE.—

11 In developing an operational rule under paragraph

12 (1), the Administrator shall—

13 (A) consider whether differences in the

14 characteristics and effects on the environment

15 of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft warrant

16 the development of separate operational rules

17 with respect to that craft;

18 (B) provide a mechanism for the Director

19 to recommend individual units or geographically

20 proximate groups of units to be designated as

21 aerial sightseeing areas, as defined by section

22 92.01 of the Federal Aviation Administration

23 Handbook, dated January 1992; and

24 (C) provide a mechanism for the Director

25 to obtain immediate assistance from the Admin-
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1 istrator in resolving issues relating to the use of

2 airspace above units with respect to which the

3 issues are of a critical, time-sensitive nature.

4 (d) EFFECT ON AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in this sec5 tion is intended to preclude the Administrator, the Direc6 tor, and a commercial air tour operator from entering into,

7 under section 4(h), an agreement on the conduct of air

8 tour flights by the air tour operator over a particular unit

9 under different terms and conditions from those imposed

10 by an operational rule promulgated under this subsection.

11 SEC. 7. AIRCRAFT SAFETY.

12 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF A SINGLE STANDARD FOR

13 CERTIFYING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATORS.—

14 (1) COMMENCEMENT OF RULEMAKING.—The

15 Administrator shall initiate formal rulemaking pro16 ceedings (which shall include a hearing on the

17 record) for the purpose of revising the regulations

18 contained in part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal

19 Regulations (relating to air taxi operators and com20 mercial operators), to prescribe a new subpart to

21 specifically cover all commercial air tour operators

22 (as that term shall be defined by the Federal Avia23 tion Administration under the subpart) that conduct

24 commercial air tour flights over units.
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1 (2) COVERED MATTERS.—The regulations pre2 scribed under subsection (a) shall address safety and

3 environmental issues with respect to commercial air

4 tour flights over units. In prescribing the regula5 tions, the Administrator shall attempt to minimize

6 the financial and administrative burdens imposed on

7 commercial air tour operators.

8 (b) AIRCRAFT MARKINGS.—

9 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each operator of commer10 cial air tour aircraft shall display on each air tour

11 aircraft of the operator the identification marks de12 scribed in paragraph (2).

13 (2) IDENTIFICATION MARKS.—The identifica14 tion marks for the aircraft of a commercial air tour

15 operator shall—

16 (A) be unique to the operator;

17 (B) be not less than 36 inches in length

18 (or a size consistent with the natural configura19 tion of the aircraft fuselage);

20 (C) appear on both sides of the air tour

21 aircraft of the air tour operator and on the un22 derside of the aircraft; and

23 (D) be applied to the air tour aircraft of

24 the air tour operator in a highly visible color
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1 that contrasts sharply with the original base

2 color paint scheme of the aircraft.

3 (c) AERONAUTICAL CHARTS.—The Administrator

4 shall ensure that the boundaries of each unit and the pro5 visions of the airspace management plan, operational rule,

6 or Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR), if any,

7 with respect to each unit are accurately displayed on aero8 nautical charts.

9 (d) FLIGHT MONITORING SYSTEMS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

11 carry out a study of the feasibility and advisability

12 of requiring that commercial air tour aircraft operat13 ing in the airspace over units have onboard an auto14 matic flight tracking system capable of monitoring

15 the altitude and ground position of the commercial

16 air tour aircraft.

17 (2) DETERMINATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—If

18 the Administrator determines under the study re19 quired under paragraph (1) that the use of flight

20 tracking systems in commercial air tour aircraft is

21 feasible and advisable, the Administrator and the

22 Director shall jointly develop a plan for implement23 ing a program to monitor the altitude and position

24 of commercial air tour aircraft over units.
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1 (e) NATIONAL DATA BASE FOR COMMERCIAL AIR

2 TOUR OPERATORS.—The Administrator shall—

3 (1) establish and maintain a data base concern4 ing all commercial air tour aircraft operated by com5 mercial air tour operators that shall be designed to

6 provide data that shall be used in making—

7 (A) determinations of—

8 (i) the scope of commercial air tour

9 flights; and

10 (ii) accident rates for commercial air

11 tour flights; and

12 (B) assessments of the safety of commer13 cial air tour flights; and

14 (2) on the basis of the information in the data

15 base established under paragraph (1), ensure that

16 each Flight Standards District Office of the Admin17 istration that serves a district in which commercial

18 air tour operators conduct commercial air tour

19 flights is adequately staffed to carry out the pur20 poses of this Act.

21 SEC. 8. EXCEPTIONS.

22 (a) FLIGHT EMERGENCIES.—This Act shall not

23 apply to any aircraft experiencing an in-flight emergency,

24 participating in search and rescue, firefighting or police

25 emergency operations, carrying out park administration or
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1 maintenance operations, or complying with air traffic con2 trol instructions.

3 (b) FLIGHTS BY MILITARY AIRCRAFT.—This Act

4 shall not apply to flights by military aircraft, except that

5 the Secretary of Defense is encouraged to work jointly

6 with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary

7 of Interior in pursuing means to mitigate the impact of

8 military flights over units.

9 (c) FLIGHTS FOR COMMERCIAL AERIAL PHOTOG10 RAPHY.—The Director and the Administrator shall jointly

11 develop restrictions and fee schedules for aircraft or rotor12 craft engaged in commercial aerial photography over units

13 at altitudes that the Director and the Administrator deter14 mine will impact adversely the resources and values of af15 fected units.

16 SEC. 9. NATIONAL PARK OVERFLIGHT ADVISORY COUNCIL.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com18 mission to be known as the ‘‘National Park Overflight Ad19 visory Council’’.

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall be com22 prised of members from each of the following

23 groups, appointed jointly by the Director and the

24 Administrator:
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1 (A) Environmental or conservation organi2 zations, citizens’ groups, and other groups with

3 similar interests.

4 (B) The commercial air tour industry and

5 organizations with similar interests.

6 (C) Representatives of departments or

7 agencies of the Federal Government.

8 (D) Such other persons as the Adminis9 trator and the Director consider appropriate.

10 (c) DUTIES.—The Council shall—

11 (1) determine the effects of commercial air tour

12 flights in the airspace over the units on the environ13 ment of the units;

14 (2) determine the economic effects of restric15 tions or prohibitions on the flights;

16 (3) solicit and receive comments from interested

17 individuals and groups on the flights;

18 (4) develop recommendations for means of re19 ducing the adverse effects of the flights on the units;

20 (5) explore financial and other incentives that

21 could encourage manufacturers to advance the state22 of-the-art in quiet aircraft and rotorcraft technology

23 and encourage commercial air tour operators to im24 plement the technology in flights over units;
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1 (6) provide comments and recommendations to

2 the Director and the Administrator under section 4;

3 (7) provide advice or recommendations to the

4 Director, the Administrator, and other appropriate

5 individuals and groups on matters relating to flights

6 over units; and

7 (8) carry out such other activities as the Direc8 tor and the Administrator jointly consider appro9 priate.

10 (d) MEETINGS.—The Council shall first meet not

11 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this

12 Act, and shall meet thereafter at the call of a majority

13 of the members of the Council.

14 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—

15 (1) COMPENSATION OF NON-FEDERAL MEM16 BERS.—Members of the Council who are not officers

17 or employees of the Federal Government shall serve

18 without compensation for their work on the Council,

19 but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

20 diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as

21 persons employed intermittently in the Government

22 service under section 5703(b) of title 5, United

23 States Code, to the extent funds are available there24 for.
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1 (2) COMPENSATION OF FEDERAL MEMBERS.—

2 Members of the Council who are officers or employ3 ees of the Federal Government shall serve without

4 compensation for their work on the Council other

5 than that compensation received in their regular

6 public employment, but shall be allowed travel ex7 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as

8 authorized by law, to the extent funds are available

9 therefor.

10 (f) REPORTS.—The Council shall annually submit to

11 Congress, the Administrator, and the Director a report

12 that—

13 (1) describes the activities of the Council under

14 this section during the preceding year; and

15 (2) sets forth the findings and recommenda16 tions of the Council on matters related to the miti17 gation of the effects on units of flights of commer18 cial air tour operators over units.

19 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

21 necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

22 SEC. 10. EXEMPTION FOR STATE OF ALASKA.

23 Nothing in this Act shall affect—

24 (1) the management of units in the State of

25 Alaska; or
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1 (2) any aircraft operations over or within units

2 in the State of Alaska.

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