[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 268 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 268

    To regulate flights over national parks, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 5, 1997

 Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Frist) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To regulate flights over national parks, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Parks Overflights Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
            (2) Plan.--The term ``plan'' means the final plan prepared 
        under section 3(c)(1).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL PARKS OVERFLIGHTS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) noise associated with aircraft overflights at a 
        national park can cause a significant adverse effect on the 
        natural quiet and experience of the park; and
            (2) aircraft operations in a national park can raise 
        serious concerns regarding public safety, including concerns 
        regarding the safety of park users.
    (b) Recommendations.--
            (1) Submission.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Administrator recommendations regarding actions necessary--
                    (A) to protect public health and safety from 
                adverse effects associated with aircraft overflights at 
                any national park;
                    (B) to protect the resources of any national park 
                experiencing an adverse impact associated with noise 
                from aircraft overflights;
                    (C) to preserve natural quiet at any national park 
                where natural quiet is a part of the park's natural 
                resources and experience; and
                    (D) to prevent resource impairment from noise 
                associated with overflights at any national park.
            (2) Restoration or preservation of quiet.--The 
        recommendations shall provide for--
                    (A) protection of public health and safety from 
                adverse affects associated with aircraft overflights; 
                and
                    (B) substantial restoration of the natural quiet or 
                substantial preservation of the natural quiet and 
                experience of the park.
            (3) Flight-free zones, flight restrictions, and flight 
        bans.--
                    (A) In general.--The recommendations shall include 
                proposals for flight-free zones, for appropriate flight 
                restrictions, or for banning flights within certain 
                national parks as necessary to meet the goals of 
                paragraph (2).
                    (B) Administration and emergency operations.--
                Flight-free zones and flight bans shall provide for 
                flight free areas over a national park, except for 
                purposes of administration, emergency operations, and 
                operations required for transportation of persons and 
                supplies to and from Indian reservations adjacent to 
                any affected national park.
                    (C) Military and other public operations.--The 
                recommendations may exempt noncommercial general 
                aviation, military, and other public operations from 
                proposed flight-free zones, flight restrictions, or 
                proposals banning flights within a park.
                    (D) Flight restrictions.--Flight restrictions, 
                including curfews and limitations on the number of 
                flights in a park may be contained in proposed 
                regulations if necessary to preserve, protect, or 
                restore the natural quiet and experience of the park.
                    (E) Commercial air tours.--Flight bans shall 
                prevent commercial air tours in a park if necessary to 
                preserve, protect, or restore the natural quiet and 
                experience of the park.
            (4) Prioritization of parks for implementation of 
        recommendations.--The recommendations shall include a proposal 
        for prioritizing the scheduled implementation of plans 
        regulating overflights in the national parks based on the 
resource impairment--
                    (A) caused by overflights in the national parks; or
                    (B) threatened by the introduction or increase of 
                overflights in the national parks.
            (5) Flight altitudes.--The Administrator, after 
        consultation with the Secretary, may--
                    (A) establish minimum flight altitudes to include 
                in the recommendations; and
                    (B) prohibit overflights below such minimum 
                altitudes in any national park as necessary to meet the 
                requirements of paragraph (2).
            (6) Quiet aircraft technology.--The recommendations shall 
        include a joint proposal by the Secretary and the Administrator 
        that--
                    (A) provides incentives for the use of quiet 
                aircraft technology within a national park;
                    (B) creates a schedule for any commercial air tour 
                operator operating within a national park to convert 
                the operator's fleet to quiet aircraft;
                    (C) promotes other appropriate steps to encourage 
                use of quiet aircraft within a national park; or
                    (D) explains why implementation of subparagraphs 
                (A), (B), and (C) is not necessary or appropriate to 
                meet the requirements of paragraph (2).
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) Preparation of plan.--Not later than 90 days after 
        receipt of recommendations under subsection (b) and after 
        notice and opportunity for hearing, the Administrator shall 
        prepare and issue a final plan for the management of air 
        traffic in the airspace above any national park--
                    (A) experiencing an adverse impact associated with 
                noise from aircraft overflights; or
                    (B) for which the Secretary determines that air 
                tours need to be regulated in order to prevent resource 
                impairment from overflights.
            (2) Review of recommendations.--
                    (A) In general.--The plan shall provide for 
                implementation of the recommendations of the Secretary 
                without change, unless the Administrator determines 
                that implementing the recommendations without change 
                would adversely affect aviation safety.
                    (B) Review of recommendations.--If the 
                Administrator determines that implementing the 
                recommendations would adversely affect aviation safety, 
                the Administrator shall, not later than 60 days after 
                making the determination, in consultation with the 
                Secretary and after notice and opportunity for 
                hearing--
                            (i) revise the recommendations consistent 
                        with the requirements of subsection (b) to 
                        eliminate the adverse effects on aviation 
                        safety; and
                            (ii) issue regulations implementing the 
                        revised recommendations in the plan.
    (d) Enforcement.--
            (1) Administrator.--The Administrator shall enforce the 
        plan in accordance with the subtitle VII of title 49, United 
        States Code.
            (2) Secretary.--The Secretary may enforce appropriate 
        requirements of the plan in accordance with regulations 
        applicable to the National Parks System.
    (e) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the effective 
        date of the plan, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
        report on--
                    (A) the success of the plan in restoring the 
                natural quiet in the national parks; and
                    (B) such other matters, including possible 
                revisions in the plan, as may be of interest to 
                Congress.
            (2) Comments by the administrator.--The report shall 
        include comments by the Administrator regarding any effect on 
        aircraft safety resulting from implementation of the plan.
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