I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 456 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to prescribe regulations to reduce helicopter noise pollution in certain residential areas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2013 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. WAXMAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to prescribe regulations to reduce helicopter 

noise pollution in certain residential areas, 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 ‘‘Los Angeles Residen5 tial Helicopter Noise Relief Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 456 IH

1 (1) Residents across Los Angeles County suffer 

2 intrusive and disruptive low-flying helicopter traffic 

3 above their neighborhoods. 

4 (2) Los Angeles County is home to a unique 

5 and excessively large concentration of scenic, his6 toric, entertainment, and transportation venues, in7 cluding sight-seeing, movie studios, movie star 

8 homes, outdoor entertainment facilities, Griffith 

9 Park, the Hollywood Sign, freeways, and many oth10 ers, that generate extensive helicopter activity. 

11 (3) Los Angeles County is home to the world’s 

12 leading civil helicopter manufacturer that conducts 

13 extensive helicopter operational testing in the region. 

14 (4) The unique terrain of canyons and valleys 

15 surrounding residential neighborhoods in Los Ange16 les County often concentrates high decibel level noise 

17 from the low-flying helicopters in and around resi18 dences in Los Angeles County. 

19 (5) The concentrated noise interrupts daily life 

20 for many Los Angeles County residents by drowning 

21 out conversations and disrupting sleep cycles. 

22 (6) Despite multiple efforts from several com23 munity and homeowner organizations in Los Angeles 

24 County to address these disturbances, helicopter 

25 traffic in Los Angeles County is not currently reguVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:10 Feb 07, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H456.IH H456

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 456 IH

1 lated by the Federal Aviation Administration or any 

2 other agency. 

3 (7) At the request of members of Congress, the 

4 Federal Aviation Administration formed an internal 

5 working group in July 2012 to solicit input from 

6 local communities and stakeholders on helicopter 

7 noise and safety issues in Los Angeles County. 

8 (8) As part of that process, several public meet9 ings were held in the fall and summer of 2012 that 

10 have allowed the Federal Aviation Administration 

11 and stakeholders to hear and better understand the 

12 concerns and complaints of affected residents. 

13 (9) The Federal Aviation Administration is 

14 scheduled to release a report in May 2013 evalu15 ating a full set of voluntary and regulatory options 

16 to reduce helicopter noise and address safety issues 

17 in Los Angeles County. 

18 (10) The report should explore how helicopters 

19 can be regulated in Los Angeles County in a manner 

20 that provides relief to residents from helicopter noise 

21 while also meeting the needs of relevant stake22 holders, including first responders. 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 456 IH

1 SEC. 3. REGULATIONS TO REDUCE HELICOPTER NOISE 

2 POLLUTION IN CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL 

3 AREAS. 

4 (a) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis6 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall pre7 scribe regulations for helicopter operations in Los Angeles 

8 County, California, that include requirements relating to 

9 the flight paths and altitudes associated with such oper10 ations to reduce helicopter noise pollution in residential 

11 areas, increase safety, and minimize scheduled commercial 

12 aircraft delays. 

13 (b) EXEMPTIONS.—In prescribing regulations under 

14 subsection (a), the Administrator shall exempt helicopter 

15 operations related to emergency, law enforcement, or mili16 tary activities from the requirements described in that 

17 subsection. 

18 (c) CONSULTATIONS.—In prescribing regulations 

19 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall make rea20 sonable efforts to consult with local communities and local 

21 helicopter operators in order to develop regulations that 

22 meet the needs of local communities, helicopter operators, 

23 and the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Æ 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS