[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 13 (Wednesday, February 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1021-S1022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN (for himself and Mr. Frist):
  S. 268. A bill to regulate flights over national parks, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


               THE NATIONAL PARKS OVERFLIGHTS ACT OF 1997

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
promote safety and quiet in our national parks. I want to thank Senator 
Frist for joining me as an original cosponsor of this bill.
  Under this legislation, the Secretary of the Interior would develop 
recommendations which may include flight-free zones, curfews, and other 
flight restrictions for aircraft operating over certain national parks. 
The Federal Aviation Administrator would then develop a plan, based 
upon these recommendations, to promote quiet and safety in our parks. 
Under the bill, the entire process would be completed within months 
after enactment of this legislation.
  To ensure that we take immediate action in those parks experiencing 
the greatest threats to their natural resources from aircraft noise, 
this bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to recommend a 
proposal for prioritizing the implementation of appropriate flight 
restrictions at certain parks. The bill also requires the Secretary and 
the Administrator to work together on recommendations that propose 
methods to encourage the use of quiet aircraft in our parks, unless 
such proposals are not needed to meet the goals of protecting quiet and 
promoting safety.
  This bill promotes safety in our national parks by allowing the FAA 
Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, to set minimum 
altitudes for overflights in certain parks and to prohibit flights 
below those minimum altitudes where necessary to meet safety goals. The 
bill makes safety the paramount concern for the Administrator in 
developing an overflight plan for a national park. Under the bill, the 
Administrator may revise the Secretary of the Interior's 
recommendations to ensure public health and safety goals are met.
  Mr. President, this bill is intended to begin a dialog on how we can 
best promote safety and quiet in our national parks. I am sure that 
this legislation can be refined to better meet its essential goals and 
I am eager to start that process.
  I also want to make clear that I fully appreciate that air tourism 
provides a legitimate way for visitors to see national parks and also 
provides an important opportunity for disabled persons to view certain 
parks. I want to ensure that this legislation provides a balanced and 
fair approach to solving safety and noise problems in our national 
parks.
  I believe this bill takes a crucial first step toward restoring and 
preserving a vital resource within many national parks--natural quiet. 
The natural ambient sound conditions found in a park, or natural quiet, 
as it is commonly called, is precisely what many Americans seek to 
experience when they visit some of our most treasured national parks. 
Natural quiet is as crucial an element of the natural beauty and 
splendor of certain parks as those resources that we visually observe 
and appreciate.

  I also believe that this bill provides important safety protections. 
As the air tour industry in many parks continues to grow, safety 
concerns also increase. By addressing safety now, before tragic 
accidents occur, we can assure the public that we have taken every 
precaution to protect visitors in our parks.
  Ten years ago, legislation I authored to promote safety and provide 
for the substantial restoration of natural quiet in the Grand Canyon 
was signed into law. This year, the Federal Aviation Administration 
[FAA] issued a final rule which modifies and expands flight-free zones 
in the canyon. The final rule is scheduled to go into effect on May 1, 
1997. But lawsuits threaten to further delay implementation of 
additional measures to meet the goals of the 1987 law.
  Moreover, the final rule does not contain incentives for operators to 
convert to quiet aircraft, although the FAA recognizes that moving to 
quiet aircraft technology offers the most promising approach to 
providing for the substantial restoration of natural quiet in the 
Canyon. Rather, a notice of proposed rulemaking was issued outlining a 
proposal for mandating conversion to quiet aircraft. This proposed 
rulemaking must now undergo public comment and agency review of those 
comments before it becomes final. In the meantime, natural quiet still 
has not been restored at the Grand Canyon.
  There are many lessons to be learned from our efforts to restore 
natural quiet in the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon experience teaches 
us that we cannot afford to wait until natural quiet has been lost 
before we take steps to protect and preserve that resource. Simply put, 
we have found that it is very difficult to undo what has already been 
done. Thus, wherever possible, we must strive to prevent the impairment 
of natural resources in our national parks. To that end, this bill sets 
up a process for achieving balanced and fair approach to resolving 
noise concerns in other national parks before any problems get out of 
hand in those parks, too.
  In addition, as a result of the Grand Canyon experience, we have 
learned some very valuable lessons about what we can and must do to 
ensure safety in the air above our national parks. Providing for public 
health and safety in our national parks must always be a foremost 
concern in our minds when developing any park overflight plan.
  Finally, I expect the administration, in exercising its authority 
under this bill, to meet with interested groups and affected 
communities, including local chambers of commerce. These groups should 
be involved in the process before implementing any flight restrictions 
in order to ensure that proposed actions are appropriate and necessary 
and that all important issues have been thoroughly considered and 
addressed.
  Again, Mr. President, this bill is intended to begin an open dialog 
on how we can best achieve our safety and natural quiet goals. Many 
parks throughout America are now being threatened

[[Page S1022]]

by the same kind of air pollution problems and noise pollution problems 
that we had over the Grand Canyon. I believe we can begin to work on 
ways in which we can protect and preserve one of the most precious 
natural resources within many of our national parks--natural quiet. At 
the same time, the bill seeks to ensure that public health and safety 
is not compromised as a result of increasing park overflights. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in this effort to reach an important balance 
and preserve our natural heritage while we provide for the safe and 
continued enjoyment of our parks.
                                 ______