106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 717
AN ACT
To amend title 49, United States Code, to regulate
overflights of national parks, and for other pur-
poses.
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 717
AN ACT
To amend title 49, United States Code, to regulate
overflights of national parks, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘National Parks Air
Tour Management Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the Federal Aviation Administration has
sole authority to control airspace over the United
States;
(2) the Federal Aviation Administration has the
authority to preserve, protect, and enhance the envi-
ronment by minimizing, mitigating, or preventing
the adverse effects of aircraft overflights of public
and tribal lands;
(3) the National Park Service has the responsi-
bility of conserving the scenery and natural and his-
toric objects and wildlife in national parks and of
providing for the enjoyment of the national parks in
ways that leave the national parks unimpaired for
future generations;
(4) the protection of tribal lands from aircraft
overflights is consistent with protecting the public
health and welfare and is essential to the mainte-
nance of the natural and cultural resources of In-
dian tribes;
(5) the National Parks Overflights Working
Group, composed of general aviation, commercial air
tour, environmental, and Native American represent-
atives, recommended that the Congress enact legisla-
tion based on the Group’s consensus work product;
and
(6) this Act reflects the recommendations made
by that Group.
SEC. 3. AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NATIONAL
PARKS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 401 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 40125. Overflights of national parks
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—A commercial
air tour operator may not conduct commercial air
tour operations over a national park (including tribal
lands) except—
‘‘(A) in accordance with this section;
‘‘(B) in accordance with conditions and
limitations prescribed for that operator by the
Administrator; and
‘‘(C) in accordance with any applicable air
tour management plan for the park.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION
FOR
OPERATING
AUTHOR-
ITY.—
‘‘(A) 
APPLICATION
REQUIRED.—Before
commencing commercial air tour operations
over a national park (including tribal lands), a
commercial air tour operator shall apply to the
Administrator for authority to conduct the op-
erations over the park.
‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR LIMITED
CAPACITY PARKS.—Whenever an air tour man-
agement plan limits the number of commercial
air tour operations over a national park during
a specified time frame, the Administrator, in
cooperation with the Director, shall issue oper-
ation specifications to commercial air tour oper-
ators that conduct such operations. The oper-
ation specifications shall include such terms and
conditions as the Administrator and the Direc-
tor find necessary for management of commer-
cial air tour operations over the park. The Ad-
ministrator, in cooperation with the Director,
shall develop an open competitive process for
evaluating proposals from persons interested in
providing commercial air tour operations over
the park. In making a selection from among
various proposals submitted, the Administrator,
in cooperation with the Director, shall consider
relevant factors, including—
‘‘(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 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 air
tour management plan, the number of existing
commercial air tour operators and current level
of service and equipment provided by any such
operators, and the financial viability of each
commercial air tour operation.
‘‘(D) COOPERATION
WITH
NPS.—Before
granting an application under this paragraph,
the Administrator, in cooperation with the Di-
rector, shall develop an air tour management
plan in accordance with subsection (b) and im-
plement such plan.
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a commercial air
tour operator secures a letter of agreement
from the Administrator and the superintendent
for the national park that describes the condi-
tions under which the commercial air tour oper-
ation will be conducted, then notwithstanding
paragraph (1), the commercial air tour operator
may conduct such operations over the national
park under part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal
Regulations, if such activity is permitted under
part 119 of such title.
‘‘(B) LIMIT ON EXCEPTIONS.—Not more
than 5 flights in any 30-day period over a sin-
gle national park may be conducted 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 the enactment
of this section, for operating authority under part
119, 121, or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regu-
lations. A new entrant commercial air tour operator
shall apply for such authority before conducting
commercial air tour operations over a national park
(including tribal lands). The Administrator shall act
on any such application for a new entrant and issue
a decision on the application not later than 24
months after it is received or amended.
‘‘(b) AIR TOUR MANAGEMENT PLANS.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in
cooperation with the Director, shall establish an
air tour management plan for any national park
(including tribal lands) for which such a plan is
not in effect whenever a person applies for au-
thority to conduct a commercial air tour oper-
ation over the park. The air tour management
plan shall be developed by means of a public
process in accordance with paragraph (4).
‘‘(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 an air tour management plan under this
subsection, the Administrator and the Director shall
each sign the environmental decision document re-
quired by section 102 of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) (including a
finding of no significant impact, an environmental
assessment, and an environmental impact statement)
and the record of decision for the air tour manage-
ment 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, max-
imum or minimum altitudes, time-of-day re-
strictions, restrictions for particular events,
maximum number of flights per unit of time,
intrusions on privacy on tribal lands, and miti-
gation of adverse noise, visual, or other im-
pacts;
‘‘(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 flight caps and cur-
fews) for the adoption of quiet aircraft tech-
nology by commercial air tour operators con-
ducting commercial air tour operations over the
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) and include such justifications
in the record of decision.
‘‘(4) PROCEDURE.—In establishing an air tour
management plan for a national park (including
tribal lands), the Administrator and the Director
shall—
‘‘(A) hold at least one public meeting with
interested parties to develop the air tour man-
agement 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 park, as a cooper-
ating agency under the regulations referred to
in subparagraph (C).
‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An air tour manage-
ment plan developed under this subsection shall be
subject to judicial review.
‘‘(6) AMENDMENTS.—The Administrator, in co-
operation with the Director, may make amendments
to an air tour management plan. Any such amend-
ments shall be published in the Federal Register for
notice and comment. A request for amendment of an
air tour management plan shall be made in such
form and manner as the Administrator may pre-
scribe.
‘‘(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 (including tribal
lands) for which the operator is an existing commer-
cial air tour operator.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS
AND
LIMITATIONS.—In-
terim operating authority granted under this
subsection—
‘‘(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 the
enactment of this section; or
‘‘(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 the 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
the air tour operator was originally granted un-
less such an increase is agreed to by the Ad-
ministrator 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 an air tour management plan is
established for the park or the tribal lands;
‘‘(F) shall promote protection of national
park resources, visitor experiences, and tribal
lands;
‘‘(G) shall promote safe operations of the
commercial air tour;
‘‘(H) shall promote the adoption of quiet
technology, as appropriate; and
‘‘(I) shall allow for modifications of the op-
eration based on experience if the modification
improves protection of national park resources
and values and of tribal lands.
‘‘(e) EXEMPTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided by
paragraph (2), this section shall not apply to—
‘‘(A) the Grand Canyon National Park;
‘‘(B) tribal lands within or abutting the
Grand Canyon National Park; or
‘‘(C) any unit of the National Park System
located in Alaska or any other land or water lo-
cated in Alaska.
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—This section shall apply to
the Grand Canyon National Park if section 3 of
Public Law 100–91 (16 U.S.C. 1a–1 note; 101 Stat.
674–678) is no longer in effect.
‘‘(3) LAKE MEAD.—This section shall not apply
to any air tour operator while flying over or near the
Lake Mead National Recreation Area solely, as a
transportation route, to conduct an air tour over the
Grand Canyon National Park.
‘‘(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.
‘‘(2) EXISTING COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPER-
ATOR.—The term ‘existing commercial air tour oper-
ator’ means a commercial air tour operator that was
actively engaged in the business of providing com-
mercial air tour operations over a national park at
any time during the 12-month period ending on the
date of the enactment of this section.
‘‘(3) NEW
ENTRANT
COMMERCIAL
AIR
TOUR
OPERATOR.—The term ‘new entrant commercial air
tour operator’ means a commercial air tour operator
that—
‘‘(A) applies for operating authority as a
commercial air tour operator for a national
park; and
‘‘(B) has not engaged in the business of
providing commercial air tour operations over
the national park (including tribal lands) in the
12-month period preceding the application.
‘‘(4) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR OPERATION.—The
term ‘commercial air tour operation’ means any
flight, conducted for compensation or hire in a pow-
ered aircraft where a purpose of the flight is sight-
seeing over a national park, within one-half mile out-
side the boundary of any national park, or over trib-
al lands, during which the aircraft flies—
‘‘(A) below a minimum altitude, deter-
mined by the Administrator in cooperation with
the Director, above ground level (except solely
for purposes of takeoff or landing, or necessary
for safe operation of an aircraft as determined
under the rules and regulations of the Federal
Aviation Administration requiring the pilot-in-
command to take action to ensure the safe op-
eration of the aircraft); or
‘‘(B) less than 1 mile laterally from any
geographic feature within the park (unless more
than one-half mile outside the boundary).
‘‘(5) NATIONAL
PARK.—The term ‘national
park’ means any unit of the National Park System.
‘‘(6) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘tribal lands’
means Indian country (as that term is defined in
section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) that is
within or abutting a national park.
‘‘(7) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration.
‘‘(8) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means
the Director of the National Park Service.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for chapter 401 of title 49, United States Code, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘40125. Overflights of national parks.’’.
SEC. 4. ADVISORY GROUP.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator
and the Director shall jointly establish an advisory group
to provide continuing advice and counsel with respect to
commercial air tour operations over and near national
parks.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—