‘‘(i) the safety record of the person
submitting the proposal or pilots employed
by the person;
‘‘(ii) any quiet aircraft technology pro-
posed to be used by the person submitting
the proposal;
‘‘(iii) the experience of the person sub-
mitting the proposal with commercial air
tour operations over other national parks
or scenic areas;
‘‘(iv) the financial capability of the
company;
‘‘(v) any training programs for pilots
provided by the person submitting the pro-
posal; and
‘‘(vi) responsiveness of the person
submitting the proposal to any relevant
criteria developed by the National Park
Service for the affected national park.
‘‘(C) NUMBER
OF
OPERATIONS
AUTHOR-
IZED.—In determining the number of author-
izations to issue to provide commercial air tour
operations over a national park, the Adminis-
trator, in cooperation with the Director, shall
take into consideration the provisions of the
commercial air tour management plan, the
number of existing commercial air tour opera-
tors and current level of service and equipment
provided by any such operators, and the finan-
cial viability of each commercial air tour oper-
ation.
‘‘(D) COOPERATION
WITH
NPS.—Before
granting an application under this paragraph,
the Administrator shall, in cooperation with the
Director, develop an air tour management plan
in accordance with subsection (b) and imple-
ment such plan.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a commercial air
tour operator secures a letter of agreement
from the Administrator and the national park
superintendent for the national park which de-
scribes the conditions under which the commer-
cial air tour operation will be conducted, then
notwithstanding paragraph (1), the commercial
air tour operator may conduct such operations
over the national park under part 91 of the
Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR 91.1 et
seq.) if such activity is permitted under part
119 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14
CFR 119.1(e)(2)).
‘‘(B) LIMIT ON EXCEPTIONS.—Not more
than 5 flights in any 30-day period over a sin-
gle national park may be exempted under this
paragraph.
‘‘(4) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
SAFETY
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Notwithstanding subsection (c), an exist-
ing commercial air tour operator shall apply, not
later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this section, for operating authority under part 119,
121, or 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14
CFR 119, 121, and 135, respectively). A new en-
trant commercial air tour operator shall apply for
such authority before conducting commercial air
tour operations over a national park or tribal lands.
The Administrator shall act on any such application
for a new entrant and issue a decision on the appli-
cation not later than 24 months after it is received
or amended.
‘‘(b) AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF ATMPS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator
shall establish, in cooperation with the Director,
an air tour management plan for any national
park or tribal land for which such a plan is not
already in effect whenever a person applies for
authority to conduct a commercial air tour op-
eration over the park. The air tour management
plan shall be developed by means of a public
process, and the agencies shall provide informa-
tion that explains the conclusions that the agen-
cies make in the application of the respective
criteria. Such explanations shall be included in
the Record of Decision and may be subject to
judicial review.
‘‘(B) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of any
air tour management plan shall be to develop
acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or
prevent the significant adverse impacts, if any,
of commercial air tours upon the natural and
cultural resources, visitor experiences, and trib-
al lands.
‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL
DETERMINATION.—In
establishing a commercial air tour management plan
under this subsection, the Administrator and the Di-
rector shall each sign the environmental decision
document required by section 102 of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332)
(including a finding of no significant impact, an en-
vironmental assessment, and an environmental im-
pact statement) and the record of decision for the
commercial air tour management plan.
‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—An air tour management
plan for a national park—
‘‘(A) may limit or prohibit commercial air
tour operations;
‘‘(B) may establish conditions for the con-
duct of commercial air tour operations, includ-
ing commercial air tour operation routes, maxi-
mum or minimum altitudes, time-of-day restric-
tions, restrictions for particular events, maxi-
mum number of flights per unit of time, intru-
sions on privacy on tribal lands, and mitigation
of adverse noise, visual, or other impacts;
‘‘(C) may apply to all commercial air tour
operations;
‘‘(D) shall include incentives (such as pre-
ferred commercial air tour operation routes and
altitudes and relief from caps and curfews) for
the adoption of quiet aircraft technology by
commercial air tour operators conducting com-
mercial air tour operations at the national park;
‘‘(E) shall provide a system for allocating
opportunities to conduct commercial air tours if
the air tour management plan includes a limita-
tion on the number of commercial air tour oper-
ations for any time period; and
‘‘(F) shall justify and document the need
for measures taken pursuant to subparagraphs
(A) through (E).
‘‘(4) PROCEDURE.—In establishing a commer-
cial air tour management plan for a national park,
the Administrator and the Director shall—
‘‘(A) hold at least one public meeting with
interested parties to develop the commercial air
tour management plan;
‘‘(B) publish the proposed plan in the Fed-
eral Register for notice and comment and make
copies of the proposed plan available to the
public;
‘‘(C) comply with the regulations set forth
in sections 1501.3 and 1501.5 through 1501.8
of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (for
purposes of complying with the regulations, the
Federal Aviation Administration shall be the
lead agency and the National Park Service is a
cooperating agency); and
‘‘(D) solicit the participation of any Indian
tribe whose tribal lands are, or may be,
overflown by aircraft involved in a commercial
air tour operation over the national park or
tribal lands, as a cooperating agency under the
regulations referred to in subparagraph (C).
‘‘(5) AMENDMENTS.—The Administrator, in co-
operation with the Director, may make amendments
to a commercial air tour management plan. Any
such amendments shall be published in the Federal
Register for notice and comment. A request for
amendment of a commercial air tour management
plan shall be made in such form and manner as the
Administrator may prescribe.
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR
OPERATION STATUS.—In making a determination of
whether a flight is a commercial air tour operation, the
Administrator may consider—
‘‘(1) whether there was a holding out to the
public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing flight
for compensation or hire;
‘‘(2) whether a narrative that referred to areas
or points of interest on the surface below the route
of the flight was provided by the person offering the
flight;
‘‘(3) the area of operation;
‘‘(4) the frequency of flights conducted by the
person offering the flight;
‘‘(5) the route of flight;
‘‘(6) the inclusion of sightseeing flights as part
of any travel arrangement package offered by the
person offering the flight;
‘‘(7) whether the flight would have been can-
celed based on poor visibility of the surface below
the route of the flight; and
‘‘(8) any other factors that the Administrator
considers appropriate.
‘‘(d) INTERIM OPERATING AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon application for oper-
ating authority, the Administrator shall grant in-
terim operating authority under this subsection to a
commercial air tour operator for commercial air tour
operations over a national park or tribal lands for
which the operator is an existing commercial air tour
operator.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS
AND
LIMITATIONS.—In-
terim operating authority granted under this para-
graph—
‘‘(A) shall provide annual authorization
only for the greater of—
‘‘(i) the number of flights used by the
operator to provide such tours within the
12-month period prior to the date of enact-
ment of this section; and
‘‘(ii) the average number of flights per
12-month period used by the operator to
provide such tours within the 36-month pe-
riod prior to such date of enactment, and,
for seasonal operations, the number of
flights so used during the season or sea-
sons covered by that 12-month period;
‘‘(B) may not provide for an increase in
the number of commercial air tour operations
conducted during any time period by the com-
mercial air tour operator above the number that
it was originally granted unless such an in-
crease is agreed to by the Administrator and
the Director;
‘‘(C) shall be published in the Federal Reg-
ister to provide notice and opportunity for com-
ment;
‘‘(D) may be revoked by the Administrator
for cause;
‘‘(E) shall terminate 180 days after the
date on which a commercial air tour manage-
ment plan is established for the park or the
tribal lands;
‘‘(F) shall promote protection of national
park resources, visitor experiences, and tribal
lands;
‘‘(G) promote safe operations of the com-
mercial air tour;
‘‘(H) promote the adoption of quiet tech-
nology, as appropriate; and
‘‘(I) allow for modifications of the oper-
ation based on experience if the modification
improves protection of national park resources
and values and of tribal lands.
‘‘(e) EXEMPTIONS.—This section shall not apply to—
‘‘(1) the Grand Canyon National Park;
‘‘(2) tribal lands within or abutting the Grand
Canyon National Park; or
‘‘(3) any unit of the National Park System lo-
cated in Alaska or any other land or water located
in Alaska.
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following
definitions apply:
‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATOR.—The
term ‘commercial air tour operator’ means any per-
son who conducts a commercial air tour operation.