I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 717
To amend title 49, United States Code, to regulate overflights of national
parks, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 11, 1999
Mr. DUNCAN (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr. OBERSTAR) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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 com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
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 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 respon-
sibility of conserving the scenery and natural and
historic 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 follow-
ing:
‘‘§ 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 enactment of
this section, for operating authority under part 119,
121, or 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
A new entrant commercial air tour operator shall
apply for such authority before conducting commer-
cial air tour operations over a national park (includ-
ing tribal lands). The Administrator shall act on any
such application for a new entrant and issue a deci-
sion 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, 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 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 cooperat-
ing 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 enact-
ment 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 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.
‘‘(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 OPERA-
TOR.—The term ‘existing commercial air tour opera-
tor’ 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 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 1⁄2 mile outside
the boundary of any national park, or over tribal
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 1⁄2 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 enactment of this Act, the Administrator and
the Director shall jointly establish an advisory group to
provide continuing advice and counsel with respect to com-
mercial air tour operations over and near national parks.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory group shall be
composed of—
(A) a balanced group of—
(i) representatives of general aviation;
(ii) representatives of commercial air
tour operators;
(iii) representatives of environmental
concerns; and
(iv) representatives of Indian tribes;
(B) a representative of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration; and
(C) a representative of the National Park
Service.
(2) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Administrator
(or the designee of the Administrator) and the Di-
rector (or the designee of the Director) shall serve
as ex-officio members.
(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The representative of the
Federal Aviation Administration and the representa-
tive of the National Park Service shall serve alter-
nating 1-year terms as chairman of the advisory
group, with the representative of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration serving initially until the end of
the calendar year following the year in which the ad-
visory group is first appointed.
(c) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall provide ad-
vice, information, and recommendations to the Adminis-
trator and the Director—
(1) on the implementation of this Act and the
amendments made by this Act;
(2) on commonly accepted quiet aircraft tech-
nology for use in commercial air tour operations over
national parks (including tribal lands), which will re-
ceive preferential treatment in a given air tour man-
agement plan;
(3) on other measures that might be taken to
accommodate the interests of visitors to national
parks; and
(4) at request of the Administrator and the Di-
rector, safety, environmental, and other issues relat-
ed to commercial air tour operations over a national
park (including tribal lands).
(d) COMPENSATION; SUPPORT; FACA.—
(1) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL.—Members of
the advisory group who are not officers or employees
of the United States, while attending conferences or
meetings of the group or otherwise engaged in its
business, or while serving away from their homes or
regular places of business, may be allowed travel ex-
penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as
authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States
Code, for persons in the Government service em-
ployed intermittently.
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
SUPPORT.—The Federal
Aviation Administration and the National Park
Service shall jointly furnish to the advisory group
clerical and other assistance.
(3) NONAPPLICATION OF FACA.—Section 14 of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
App.) does not apply to the advisory group.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
(a) OVERFLIGHT FEE REPORT.—Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit to Congress a report on the effects
overflight fees are likely to have on the commercial air
tour operation industry. The report shall include, but shall
not be limited to—
(1) the viability of a tax credit for the commer-
cial air tour operators equal to the amount of any
overflight fees charged by the National Park Service;
and
(2) the financial effects proposed offsets are
likely to have on Federal Aviation Administration
budgets and appropriations.
(b) QUIET AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY REPORT.—Not
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Administrator and the Director shall jointly transmit
a report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act in
providing incentives for the development and use of quiet
aircraft technology.
SEC. 6. EXEMPTIONS.
This Act shall not apply to—
(1) any unit of the National Park System lo-
cated in Alaska; or
(2) any other land or water located in Alaska.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply: