I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3661
To help ensure general aviation aircraft access to Federal land and to the
airspace over that land.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 15, 2000
Mr. HANSEN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. PETERSON of Min-
nesota, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. HAYES, Mr. HEFLEY, Mrs.
CUBIN, Mr. MCINNIS, Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE, Mr. JENKINS, Mr.
SHADEGG, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. RADANO-
VICH, and Mr. CANNON) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on
Agriculture, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 con-
cerned
A BILL
To help ensure general aviation aircraft access to Federal
land and to the airspace over that land.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘General Aviation Ac-
cess Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Secretary of the Interior and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Ad-
ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration,
should adopt a nationwide policy for governing gen-
eral aviation issues related to the management of
Federal land under the jurisdiction of those Secre-
taries and should require regional managers to ad-
here to that policy.
(2) Backcountry aircraft landing strips serve an
essential safety role as emergency landing areas.
(3) General aviation provides access to people
who would otherwise be physically unable to enjoy
national parks, national forests, and other Federal
lands and serves an essential purpose in search and
rescue, firefighting, forest, and ecological manage-
ment, research, and aerial mapping.
SEC. 3. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ACTIONS AF-
FECTING AIRCRAFT LANDING STRIPS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Neither the Secretary of the Inte-
rior nor the Secretary of Agriculture shall take any action
or inaction, including neglect, which would permanently
close or render or declare as unserviceable any aircraft
landing strip unless—
(1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration and the head of the aviation depart-
ment of each State in which the aircraft landing
strip is located have approved the action;
(2) notice of the proposed action and the fact
that the action would permanently close or render or
declare as unserviceable the aircraft landing strip
has been published in the Federal Register, with a
cross reference under the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration heading;
(3) a 90-day public comment period on the ac-
tion has been provided after the publication under
paragraph (2); and
(4) any comments received during the comment
period provided under paragraph (3) have been
taken into consideration by the Secretary of the In-
terior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case
may be, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration, and the head of the aviation depart-
ment of each State in which the affected aircraft
landing strip is located.
(b) NATIONAL POLICY.—Not later than 2 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, in consulta-
tion with the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration, shall—
(1) adopt a nationwide policy that is in accord-
ance with this Act for governing general aviation
issues related to the management of Federal land
under the jurisdiction of those Secretaries; and
(2) require regional managers to adhere to that
policy.
(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICIES.—A policy affect-
ing access to an aircraft landing strip located on Federal
land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior
or the Secretary of Agriculture, including the policy re-
quired by subsection (b), shall not take effect unless the
policy—
(1) is approved by the Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration;
(2) states that the Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration has the sole authority to control aviation and
airspace over the United States; and
(3) seeks and considers comments from State
governments and the public.
(d) MAINTENANCE OF AIRSTRIPS.—The Secretary of
the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult
with—
(1) the head of the aviation department of each
State in which an aircraft landing strip on Federal
land under the jurisdiction of that Secretary is lo-
cated; and
(2) other interested parties,
to ensure that such aircraft landing strips are maintained
in a manner that is consistent with the resource values
of the adjacent area.
(e) EXCHANGES OR ACQUISITIONS.—Closure or pur-
poseful neglect of any aircraft landing strip, or any other
action which would render any aircraft landing strip un-
serviceable, shall not be a condition of any Federal acquisi-
tion of or exchange involving private property upon which
the aircraft landing strip is located.
(f) PERMANENT CLOSURE.—For the purposes of this
Act, the term ‘‘permanent closure’’ means any closure the
duration of which is more than 180 days in any calendar
year.
(g) APPLICABILITY.—Subsections (a), (c), and (e)
shall apply to any action, policy, or exchange, respectively,
that is not final on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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