IIB
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 717
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 28, 1999
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation
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,
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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
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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.—
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‘‘(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,
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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-
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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.