II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2428

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

Park System, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 25 (legislative day, AUGUST 18), 1994

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 the

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 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Air tour flights over units of the National

9 Park System may have adverse effects on such

10 units.
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1 (2) Congressional concern over the effects of

2 low-level flights on the units of the National Park

3 System led to the enactment of the Act entitled ‘‘An

4 Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to con5 duct a study to determine the appropriate minimum

6 altitude for aircraft flying over national park system

7 units’’, approved August 18, 1987 (Public Law 100–

8 91; 101 Stat. 674; 16 U.S.C. 1a–1 note). The Act

9 required the Director to identify problems associated

10 with flights by aircraft in the airspace over the units

11 of the National Park System.

12 (3) The number of flights by aircraft over units

13 of the National Park System has increased rapidly

14 since the enactment of the Act, and the National

15 Park Service continues to struggle to develop a pol16 icy which would achieve an acceptable balance be17 tween flights over such units by commercial air tour

18 operators and the protection of the resources in such

19 units and the experiences of visitors to such units.

20 (4) Visitors to certain units of the National

21 Park System may reasonably expect quiet during

22 their visits to such units, particularly visitors to

23 units established with the specific goal of providing

24 visitors to the units with an opportunity for solitude.
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1 (5) Natural quiet is an inherent resource of cer2 tain units of the National Park System. It is in the

3 public interest that natural quiet at such units be

4 conserved in the same manner as other resources

5 under the care and jurisdiction of the National Park

6 Service.

7 (6) The public has registered a significant num8 ber of complaints about commercial air tour flights

9 over certain areas under the jurisdiction of the Na10 tional Park Service.

11 (7) Such flights may degrade the experiences of

12 visitors to the affected areas and may have adverse

13 effects on wildlife and cultural resources in such

14 areas.

15 (8) The Federal Aviation Administration con16 tinues to have difficulty controlling adequately com17 mercial air tour flights by aircraft over units of the

18 National Park System that are adversely affected by

19 such flights.

20 (9) There are significant and continuing con21 cerns about the safety of commercial air tour flights

22 over some units of the National Park System, in23 cluding concerns for the safety of occupants of the

24 flights, of visitors to such units, of Federal Govern-
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1 ment employees at such units, and of the general

2 public.

3 SEC. 3. MINIMIZATION OF EFFECTS OF COMMERCIAL AIR

4 TOUR FLIGHTS OVER UNITS OF THE NA5 TIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

6 (a) PROHIBITION ON FLIGHTS BELOW CERTAIN AL7 TITUDES.—(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law

8 and subject to paragraph (2), a commercial air tour opera9 tor may not conduct the portion of a commercial air tour

10 flight that takes place over a unit of the National Park

11 System at an altitude that is less than 3,000 feet above

12 ground level.

13 (2) The prohibition in paragraph (1) may not be con14 strued to prohibit an agreement among a commercial air

15 tour operator, the Administrator, and the Director which

16 establishes a minimum flight altitude for commercial air

17 tour flights of the operator over a particular unit of the

18 National Park System that differs from the minimum

19 flight altitude set forth in that paragraph.

20 (b) ADDITIONAL ACTIONS TO MINIMIZE EFFECTS.—

21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Adminis22 trator and the Director shall jointly take such actions as

23 the Administrator and the Director determine appropriate

24 in order—
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1 (1) to determine the most practical and effec2 tive means of minimizing the effects of commercial

3 air tour flights over units of the National Park Sys4 tem;

5 (2) to implement such means; and

6 (3) to conduct periodic training of the employ7 ees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the

8 National Park Service on matters relating to the im9 plementation of such means.

10 SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE STANDARD FOR CER11 TIFYING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERA12 TORS.

13 (a) COMMENCEMENT OF RULEMAKING.—Not later

14 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

15 the Administrator shall initiate formal rulemaking proce16 dures for the purpose of prescribing a new subpart of part

17 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to

18 air taxi operators and commercial operators), which would

19 specifically cover all commercial air tour operators (as that

20 term will be defined by the Federal Aviation Administra21 tion under the subpart) that conduct commercial air tour

22 flights over units of the National Park System.

23 (b) COVERED MATTERS.—The subpart prescribed

24 under subsection (a) shall contain regulations that address

25 safety and environmental issues with respect to commer-
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1 cial air tour flights over units of the National Park Sys2 tem. In prescribing the subpart, the Administrator shall

3 attempt to minimize the financial and administrative bur4 dens imposed on commercial air tour operators by such

5 regulations.

6 (c) COMPLETION.—The Administrator shall—

7 (1) complete prescription of the regulations re8 ferred to in subsection (a) not later than the end of

9 the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enact10 ment of this Act; or

11 (2) if the Administrator does not complete the

12 prescription by the end of that period, submit to

13 Congress a report at the end of that period which

14 report shall—

15 (A) provide an explanation of the failure of

16 the Administrator to complete the prescription

17 within that period; and

18 (B) describe the status of the regulations

19 to be prescribed.

20 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL RULE FOR COM21 MERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATIONS OVER

22 UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

23 (a) REQUIREMENT.—(1) Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the Administrator shall initiate formal rule25 making procedures for the purpose of prescribing a single
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1 operational rule which would govern the conduct of fixed2 wing and rotorcraft flights by commercial air tour opera3 tors over the units of the National Park System. The Ad4 ministrator shall initiate such procedures not later than

5 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 (2) The Administrator may prescribe separate oper7 ational rules governing the conduct of flights by fixed-wing

8 aircraft and by rotorcraft if the Administrator determines

9 under subsection (b)(1) that separate rules are warranted.

10 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing an operational

11 rule under subsection (a), the Administrator shall—

12 (1) consider whether differences in the charac13 teristics and effects on the environment of fixed14 wing aircraft and rotorcraft warrant the develop15 ment of separate operational rules with respect to

16 such craft;

17 (2) provide a mechanism for the Director to

18 recommend individual units or geographically proxi19 mate groups of units to be designated as aerial

20 sightseeing areas, as defined by Federal Aviation

21 Administration Handbook 92.01, dated January

22 1992; and

23 (3) provide a mechanism for the Director to ob24 tain immediate assistance from the Administrator in

25 resolving issues relating to the use of airspace above
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1 units which issues are of a critical, time-sensitive na2 ture.

3 (c) COMPLETION.—The Administrator shall—

4 (1) complete prescription of the regulations re5 ferred to in subsection (a) not later than the end of

6 the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enact7 ment of this Act; or

8 (2) if the Administrator does not complete the

9 prescription by the end of that period, submit to

10 Congress a report at the end of that period which

11 report shall—

12 (A) provide an explanation for the failure

13 of the Administrator to complete the prescrip14 tion within that period; and

15 (B) describe the status of the regulations

16 to be prescribed.

17 (d) EFFECT ON AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in this sec18 tion is intended to preclude the Administrator, the Direc19 tor, and a commercial air tour operator from entering into

20 an agreement under section 7 (including an agreement

21 under subsection (c)(3) or (d)(1) of that section) on the

22 conduct of air tour flights by the air tour operator over

23 a particular unit of the National Park System under dif24 ferent terms and conditions than those imposed by the

25 operational rule or rules prescribed under this section.
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1 SEC. 6. FLIGHT-FREE PARKS.

2 (a) DESIGNATION OF UNITS.—Not later than 1 year

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director,

4 in consultation with the Administrator, shall—

5 (1) prescribe criteria to identify units of the

6 National Park System where air tour flights by com7 mercial air tour aircraft are incompatible with or in8 jurious to the purposes and values for which such

9 units were established;

10 (2) identify any units of the National Park Sys11 tem which meet such criteria; and

12 (3) designate such units as units of the Na13 tional Park System covered by this section.

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CRITERIA.—In

15 prescribing criteria under subsection (a), the Director—

16 (1) shall ensure sufficient opportunity for public

17 comment;

18 (2) shall give due consideration to the com19 ments and recommendations of the National Park

20 Overflight Advisory Council established under sec21 tion 10 and of the Federal Interagency Airspace/

22 Natural Resource Coordination Group, or any suc23 cessor organization to that entity; and

24 (3) may utilize the authority to engage in nego25 tiated rulemaking under subchapter III of chapter 5

26 of title 5, United States Code.
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1 (c) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—

2 (1) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in para3 graphs (2) and (3), commercial air tour flights may

4 not be conducted in the airspace over any unit of the

5 National Park System designated under subsection

6 (a)(3).

7 (2) OPERATORS CONDUCTING FLIGHTS BEFORE

8 1994.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara10 graph (B) and paragraph (4), a commercial air

11 tour operator that conducted commercial air

12 tour flights in the airspace over a unit des13 ignated under subsection (a)(3) as of December

14 31, 1993, may continue to conduct flights in

15 that airspace.

16 (B) LIMITATION.—The number of com17 mercial air tour flights over a unit that a com18 mercial air tour operator may conduct under

19 this paragraph in any year after 1994 may not

20 exceed the number of such flights that the oper21 ator conducted over the unit during 1993.

22 (3) OPERATORS COMMENCING FLIGHTS AFTER

23 1993.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B) and paragraph (4), a commercial air
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1 tour operator that commences, during the pe2 riod beginning on January 1, 1994, and ending

3 on the date of the enactment of this Act, the

4 conduct of commercial air tour flights in the

5 airspace over a unit designated under sub6 section (a)(3) may continue to conduct flights

7 in that airspace.

8 (B) LIMITATION.—The number of com9 mercial air tour flights over a unit that a com10 mercial air tour operator may conduct under

11 this paragraph in any month after December

12 1994 may not exceed the average number of

13 flights per month that the operator conducted

14 over the unit during the period referred to in

15 subparagraph (A).

16 (4) EFFECT OF SALE OR DISCONTINUATION OF

17 OPERATIONS.—

18 (A) PROHIBITION ON SALE.—The author19 ity of a commercial air tour operator to conduct

20 commercial air tour flights under paragraph (2)

21 or (3) may not be sold, conveyed, or otherwise

22 transferred.

23 (B) DISCONTINUATION.—Upon the dis24 continuation by a commercial air tour operator

25 of commercial air tour flights over a unit of the
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1 National Park System under paragraph (2) or

2 (3), the authority of the air tour operator to

3 conduct such flights over that unit shall termi4 nate.

5 SEC. 7. FLIGHTS OVER OTHER UNITS OF THE NATIONAL

6 PARK SYSTEM.

7 (a) NATIONAL PARK AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT

8 PLANS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director and the Ad10 ministrator shall establish in accordance with this

11 subsection a plan for the management of the air12 space above each unit of the National Park System

13 not designated under section 6 that—

14 (A) is affected by commercial air tour

15 flights to such an extent that the Director con16 siders the unit to be a unit requiring an air17 space management plan; or

18 (B) is a unit over which—

19 (i) no commercial air tour flights oc20 curred on or before the date of the enact21 ment of this Act; and

22 (ii) a commercial air tour operator

23 proposes to conduct commercial air tour

24 flights after that date.
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1 (2) PLAN PURPOSE.—The purpose of a plan

2 under this subsection is to minimize the adverse ef3 fects of commercial air tour flights on the resources

4 of a unit of the National Park System.

5 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT

6 PLANS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—

8 (A) AFFECTED UNITS.—The Director and

9 the Administrator shall jointly develop a plan

10 for the management of the airspace above a

11 unit of the National Park System referred to in

12 subsection (a)(1)(A) not later than 1 year after

13 the date of the determination by the Director

14 under that subsection that the unit requires

15 such a plan.

16 (B) UNITS SUBJECT TO PROPOSED OPER17 ATIONS.—In the case of a unit referred to in

18 subsection (a)(1)(B), the Director and the Ad19 ministrator shall jointly develop a plan for the

20 management of the airspace over the unit not

21 later than 180 days after the date on which a

22 commercial air tour operator first submits to

23 the Director a proposal referred to in that sub24 section. The proposal shall include any informa25 tion that the Director and the Administrator
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1 consider necessary in order to evaluate fully the

2 proposal.

3 (2) TREATMENT OF RELEVANT EXPERTISE.—In

4 developing plans under paragraph (1), the Adminis5 trator shall defer to the Director in matters relating

6 to the identification and protection of park re7 sources, and the Director shall defer to the Adminis8 trator in matters relating to the safe and efficient

9 management of airspace.

10 (3) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.—In developing

11 a plan for a unit, the Director and the Adminis12 trator shall jointly—

13 (A) determine whether the utilization of

14 negotiated rulemaking procedures under sub15 chapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, United

16 States Code, in the development of the plan is

17 in the public interest; and

18 (B) if the Director and the Administrator

19 determine that such utilization is in the public

20 interest, develop the plan utilizing procedures

21 for such rulemaking under that subchapter.

22 (4) COMMENT ON PLANS.—In developing a plan

23 for a unit, the Director and the Administrator

24 shall—
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1 (A) ensure sufficient opportunity for public

2 comment; and

3 (B) give due consideration to the com4 ments and recommendations of the National

5 Park Overflight Advisory Council established

6 under section 10 and the Federal Interagency

7 Airspace/Natural Resource Coordination Group,

8 or any successor organization to that entity.

9 (5) RESOLUTION OF PLAN INADEQUACIES.—If

10 the Director and the Administrator disagree with re11 spect to any portion of a proposed plan under this

12 subsection, the Director and the Administrator shall

13 refer the proposed plan to the Secretary of the Inte14 rior and the Secretary of Transportation who shall

15 jointly resolve the disagreement.

16 (6) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF

17 OVERFLIGHTS.—The Director and the Administrator

18 may jointly conduct any studies to ascertain the ef19 fects of low-level flights of commercial air tour air20 craft over units of the National Park System that

21 the Director and the Administrator consider nec22 essary for the development of plans under this sub23 section.

24 (7) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Director and the

25 Administrator shall periodically review each plan de-
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1 veloped under this subsection. The purpose of the re2 view is to ensure that the plan continues to meet the

3 purpose of the plan under this subsection. The Di4 rector and the Administrator may revise a plan if

5 they determine based on such review that such revi6 sion is advisable.

7 (c) FLIGHTS OVER UNITS REQUIRING MANAGEMENT

8 PLANS.—

9 (1) FLIGHTS OVER UNITS COVERED BY

10 PLANS.—A commercial air tour operator may not

11 conduct commercial air tour flights in the airspace

12 over a unit of the National Park System covered by

13 an airspace management plan developed under sub14 section (b) unless the commercial air tour operator

15 enters into an agreement with respect to the conduct

16 of such flights under paragraph (3).

17 (2) FLIGHTS PENDING DEVELOPMENT OF

18 PLANS.—

19 (A) FLIGHTS BY EXISTING OPERATORS.—

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—A commercial air

21 tour operator described in clause (ii) may

22 conduct commercial air tour operations in

23 the airspace over a unit described in that

24 clause during the period of the develop25 ment of an airspace management plan for
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1 the unit under this section. The number of

2 such flights during any day in that period

3 may not exceed the average daily number

4 of commercial air tour flights conducted by

5 the air tour operator during the 12-month

6 period ending on the date of the com7 mencement of the development of the plan

8 under this section.

9 (ii) COVERED OPERATORS.—Clause (i)

10 applies to any commercial air tour operator

11 that conducts commercial air tour flights

12 over a unit of the National Park System

13 for which the Director determines under

14 subsection (a) that an airspace manage15 ment plan is required if the commercial air

16 tour operator conducts such flights over

17 the unit as of the date of that determina18 tion.

19 (B) FLIGHTS BY POTENTIAL OPERA20 TORS.—Except as provided in subparagraph

21 (A), a commercial air tour operator may not

22 conduct commercial air tour flights over a unit

23 of the National Park System referred to in

24 clause (ii) of that subparagraph during the pe-
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1 riod referred to in clause (i) of that subpara2 graph.

3 (3) AGREEMENT.—An agreement referred to in

4 paragraph (1) is an agreement among a commercial

5 air tour operator, the Director, and the Adminis6 trator which provides for the application of relevant

7 provisions of the airspace management plan for the

8 unit concerned to the commercial air tour operator

9 entering into the agreement.

10 (d) FLIGHT OVER UNITS NOT REQUIRING MANAGE11 MENT PLANS.—

12 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR AGREEMENT.—A com13 mercial air tour operator may not conduct commer14 cial air tour flights over a unit of the National Park

15 System for which no airspace management plan is

16 required under this section unless the commercial air

17 tour operator enters into an agreement with the Di18 rector and the Administrator relating to the conduct

19 of such flights. The terms and conditions of the

20 agreement shall, to the maximum extent practicable,

21 provide for the conduct of air tour flights by the air

22 tour operator in a manner that minimizes the ad23 verse effect of such air tour flights on the environ24 ment of the unit.
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1 (2) FLIGHTS PENDING AGREEMENT.—A com2 mercial air tour operator that conducts commercial

3 air tour flights over a unit referred to in paragraph

4 (1) on the date of the enactment of this Act may

5 continue to conduct such flights during negotiations

6 for the agreement referred to in paragraph (1). The

7 number of such flights during any day in that period

8 may not exceed the average daily number of com9 mercial air tour flights conducted by the air tour op10 erator during the 12-month period ending on the

11 date of the commencement of negotiations for the

12 agreement.

13 (e) RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES IN ENTERING INTO

14 AGREEMENTS.—

15 (1) RESOLUTION.—In the event of a dispute be16 tween a commercial air tour operator and the Direc17 tor and the Administrator during entry into an

18 agreement under subsection (c) or (d), the Director,

19 the Administrator, and the air tour operator shall

20 attempt to resolve the dispute using the dispute res21 olution proceedings authorized under subchapter IV

22 of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.

23 (2) FAILURE OF RESOLUTION.—If the Director,

24 the Administrator, and a commercial air tour opera25 tor are unable to resolve a dispute referred to in
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1 paragraph (1) using the dispute resolution proce2 dures referred to in that paragraph, the Adminis3 trator shall prescribe an operational rule for the unit

4 of the National Park System concerned in accord5 ance with subsection (f)(3).

6 (f) OVERSIGHT.—

7 (1) ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF

8 AGREEMENTS.—The Director shall periodically carry

9 out such studies as are necessary to determine if

10 agreements entered into under subsections (c) and

11 (d) are adequate to minimize the adverse effects of

12 commercial air tour flights on the resources of the

13 units of the National Park System covered by such

14 agreements.

15 (2) RESPONSE TO INADEQUACY.—If the Direc16 tor determines under paragraph (1) that one or

17 more agreements referred to in that paragraph are

18 inadequate to minimize the effects referred to in

19 that paragraph, the Director shall—

20 (A) notify the Administrator and the com21 mercial air tour operator concerned of that de22 termination; and

23 (B) attempt to resolve the inadequacy uti24 lizing the dispute resolution procedures author-
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1 ized under subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title

2 5, United States Code.

3 (3) ADDITIONAL RESOLUTION AUTHORITY.—

4 (A) OPERATIONAL RULE.—If the Director,

5 the Administrator, and a commercial air tour

6 operator are unable to resolve an inadequacy in

7 an agreement utilizing the dispute resolution

8 procedures referred to in paragraph (2)(B), the

9 Administrator shall prescribe an operational

10 rule for the unit concerned. The purpose of the

11 rule shall be to minimize the adverse effects of

12 commercial air tour flights on the resources of

13 the unit concerned.

14 (B) DISPUTES RELATING TO RULE.—If the

15 Director determines that the implementation of

16 an operational rule, and the enforcement there17 of by the Administrator, is inadequate in whole

18 or in part to minimize the adverse effects of

19 commercial air tour flights on the resources of

20 the unit concerned, the Director shall—

21 (i) notify the Administrator and the

22 commercial air tour operator or operators

23 concerned of that determination; and

24 (ii) attempt to resolve the inadequacy

25 utilizing the dispute resolution procedures
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1 authorized under subchapter IV of chapter

2 5 of title 5, United States Code.

3 (C) FINAL RESOLUTION.—If the Director,

4 the Administrator, and the commercial air tour

5 operator or operators concerned are unable to

6 resolve an inadequacy in an operational rule

7 under subparagraph (B), the Administrator

8 shall develop a Special Federal Aviation Regula9 tion (SFAR) covering the unit concerned.

10 SEC. 8. FLIGHTS BY OTHER AIRCRAFT OVER UNITS OF THE

11 NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

12 (a) FLIGHT EMERGENCIES.—No provision of this Act

13 shall apply to an aircraft experiencing an in-flight emer14 gency.

15 (b) FLIGHTS BY MILITARY AIRCRAFT.—Notwith16 standing any other provision of law, military aircraft may

17 not conduct flights in the airspace over a unit of the Na18 tional Park System below an altitude that is 3,000 above

19 ground level, except as provided for in a Memorandum of

20 Understanding between the Director and the Secretary of

21 Defense.

22 (c) FLIGHTS FOR COMMERCIAL AERIAL PHOTOG23 RAPHY.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—An aircraft or rotorcraft en25 gaged in commercial aerial photography may not
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1 conduct flights in the airspace over a unit of the Na2 tional Park Service below an altitude that is 3,000

3 feet above ground level unless the pilot of the air4 craft or rotorcraft receives advance written permis5 sion from the appropriate Flight Standards District

6 Office of the Federal Aviation Administration and

7 from the superintendent of the unit of the National

8 Park System concerned.

9 (2) FEES.—The superintendents of the units of

10 the National Park System may collect fees from the

11 operators of aircraft and rotorcraft engaged in com12 mercial aerial photography. The fees shall be set at

13 such amount as the Director determines necessary to

14 ensure that the United States will receive fair mar15 ket value for the use of the area concerned and

16 shall, at a minimum, cover all administrative and

17 other costs of providing necessary services associated

18 with commercial aerial photography at such units.

19 SEC. 9. AIRCRAFT SAFETY.

20 (a) AIRCRAFT MARKINGS.—

21 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each operator of commer22 cial air tour aircraft shall display on each air tour

23 aircraft of the operator the identification marks de24 scribed in paragraph (2).
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1 (2) IDENTIFICATION MARKS.—The identifica2 tion marks for the aircraft of a commercial air tour

3 operator shall—

4 (A) be unique to the operator;

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

6 (or a size consistent with the natural configura7 tion of the aircraft fuselage);

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

9 aircraft of the air tour operator and on the un10 derside of the aircraft; and

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

12 the air tour operator in a highly visible color

13 that contrasts sharply with the original base

14 color paint scheme of the aircraft.

15 (b) FLIGHT MONITORING SYSTEMS.—

16 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—Not later than

17 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,

18 the Administrator shall carry out a study of the fea19 sibility and advisability of requiring that aircraft and

20 rotorcraft operating in the airspace over units of the

21 National Park System have onboard an automatic

22 flight tracking system capable of monitoring the alti23 tude and ground position of the aircraft and rotor24 craft.
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1 (2) INSTALLATION OF FLIGHT MONITORING

2 SYSTEM.—If the Administrator determines under the

3 study required under paragraph (1) that the use of

4 automatic flight tracking system in aircraft and

5 rotorcraft is feasible and advisable, then not later

6 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this

7 Act, each commercial air tour operator that conducts

8 air tour flights in the airspace above a unit of the

9 National Park System shall have an automatic flight

10 tracking system onboard each aircraft and rotorcraft

11 of such air tour operator that conducts such air tour

12 flights.

13 (3) MONITORING THROUGH SYSTEMS.—

14 (A) MONITORING.—The Director shall en15 sure that appropriate personnel of the National

16 Park Service monitor the altitude and position

17 of aircraft and rotorcraft, if any, having a sys18 tem required under paragraph (2) for purposes

19 of determining that the aircraft and rotorcraft

20 comply with all laws, regulations, and agree21 ments on flights in the airspace over units of

22 the National Park System.

23 (B) VIOLATIONS.—The Director shall en24 sure that personnel referred to in subparagraph

25 (A) report to the Federal Aviation Administra-
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1 tion any apparent violations of the laws and

2 regulations referred to in that subparagraph.

3 (c) AERONAUTICAL CHARTS.—The Administrator

4 shall ensure that the boundaries of each unit of the Na5 tional Park System and the provisions of the airspace

6 management plan, operational rule, or Special Federal

7 Aviation Regulation (SFAR), if any, with respect to each

8 such unit are accurately reflected on aeronautical charts.

9 (d) PARK VISITOR EDUCATION.—The Director shall

10 develop educational materials for public distribution on air

11 tour flights over units of the National Park System by

12 commercial air tour operators. Such materials shall in13 clude the most common flight patterns and routes of such

14 flights.

15 (e) DATA COLLECTION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall col17 lect and publish each year statistical data on com18 mercial air tour flights over the units of the Na19 tional Park System.

20 (2) REQUIREMENT FOR INFORMATION.—The

21 information collected under paragraph (1) shall in22 clude the following:

23 (A) The units at which such flights oc24 curred.
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1 (B) The flight hours flown during such

2 flights.

3 (C) The number of passengers carried dur4 ing such flights.

5 (D) The number and type of aircraft

6 safety violations that occurred during such

7 flights.

8 (E) The number and type of accidents or

9 other incidents involving air tour aircraft that

10 occurred during such flights.

11 (F) The number and type of disciplinary

12 actions, if any, taken against the pilots of such

13 aircraft with respect to such flights.

14 SEC. 10. NATIONAL PARK OVERFLIGHT ADVISORY

15 COUNCIL.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

17 commission to be known as the National Park Overflight

18 Advisory Council (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Coun19 cil’’).

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

21 (1) VOTING MEMBERS.—The Council shall be

22 composed of 20 voting members appointed jointly by

23 the Director and the Administrator as follows:
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1 (A) Five representatives of environmental

2 or conservation organizations, citizens’ groups,

3 and other groups with similar interests.

4 (B) Five representatives of the commercial

5 air tour industry and organizations with similar

6 interests.

7 (C) Five individuals from the private sec8 tor who—

9 (i) have an interest in the effects on

10 the units of the National Park System of

11 commercial air tour flights in the airspace

12 over such units;

13 (ii) are not affiliated with the organi14 zations or groups referred to in subpara15 graph (A) or the industry or organizations

16 referred to in subparagraph (B); and

17 (iii) have no substantial financial in18 terest in the management of the airspace

19 over units of the National Park System.

20 (D) Five representatives of departments or

21 agencies of the Federal Government (other than

22 individuals associated with the Department of

23 the Interior and the Department of Transpor24 tation), with the consent of the head of the de25 partment or agency concerned, who have regu-
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1 latory responsibility over land management

2 matters, airspace management matters, or both.

3 (2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Director, or

4 the designee of the Director, and the Administrator,

5 or the designee of the Administrator, shall be ex

6 officio members of the Council.

7 (3) APPOINTMENT DATE.—Members of the

8 Council shall be appointed under this subsection not

9 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment

10 of this Act.

11 (4) SELECTION OF CHAIR.—The Council shall

12 elect a Chairperson from among the voting members

13 of the Council.

14 (5) MEETINGS.—The Council shall first meet

15 not later than 180 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act and shall meet thereafter at the call

17 of a majority of the members of the Council.

18 (c) DUTIES.—The Council shall have the following

19 duties:

20 (1) To determine the effects on the environment

21 of units of the National Park System of commercial

22 air tour flights in the airspace over such units.

23 (2) To determine the economic effects of re24 strictions or prohibitions on such flights.
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1 (3) To solicit and receive comments from inter2 ested individuals and groups on such flights.

3 (4) To develop recommendations for means of

4 reducing the adverse effects of such flights on such

5 units.

6 (5) To explore financial and other incentives

7 which could encourage manufacturers to advance the

8 state-of-the-art in quiet aircraft and rotorcraft tech9 nology and encourage commercial air tour operators

10 to implement such technology in flights over park

11 units.

12 (6) To provide comments and recommendations

13 to the Director and the Administrator under sections

14 6 and 7.

15 (7) To provide advice or recommendations to

16 the Director, the Administrator, and other appro17 priate individuals and groups on matters relating to

18 such flights.

19 (8) To carry out such other activities as the Di20 rector and the Administrator jointly consider appro21 priate.

22 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—

23 (1) COMPENSATION OF NON-FEDERAL MEM24 BERS.—Members of the Council who are not officers

25 or employees of the Federal Government shall serve
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1 without compensation for their work on the Council,

2 but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

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

4 persons employed intermittently in the Government

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

6 States Code, to the extent funds are available there7 for.

8 (2) COMPENSATION OF FEDERAL MEMBERS.—

9 Members of the Council who are officers or employ10 ees of the Federal Government shall serve without

11 compensation for their work on the Council other

12 than that compensation received in their regular

13 public employment, but shall be allowed travel ex14 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as

15 authorized by law, to the extent funds are available

16 therefor.

17 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Director

18 and the Administrator shall, to the extent permitted

19 by law, provide the Council with such administrative

20 services, funds, facilities, staff and other support

21 services as may be necessary for the performance of

22 its functions.

23 (e) REPORTS.—The Council shall annually submit to

24 Congress, the Administrator, and the Director a report

25 that—
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1 (1) describes the activities of the Council under

2 this section during the preceding year; and

3 (2) sets forth the findings and recommenda4 tions of the Council on matters related to the miti5 gation of the effects on the units of the National

6 Park System of flights of commercial air tour opera7 tors over such units.

8 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

10 necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

11 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

12 In this Act:

13 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad14 ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

15 (2) The term ‘‘air tour aircraft’’ means an air16 craft (including a fixed-wing aircraft or a rotorcraft)

17 that makes air tour flights.

18 (3) The term ‘‘air tour flight’’ means a pas19 senger flight conducted by aircraft (including by

20 fixed-wing aircraft or by rotorcraft) for the purpose

21 of permitting a passenger to the flight to view an

22 area over which the flight occurs.

23 (4) Except as defined by the Federal Aviation

24 Administration under section 4, the term ‘‘commer25 cial air tour operator’’ means a company, corpora-
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1 tion, partnership, individual, or other entity that

2 provides air tour flights for hire to the public.

3 (5) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of

4 the National Park Service.

Æ

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