[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 15 (Friday, February 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1133-S1136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. Frist, and Mr. Inouye):
  S. 291. A bill to provide for the management of the airspace over 
units of the National Park System, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


           the national parks airspace management act of 1997

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, in behalf of myself, Senator Frist, and 
Senator Inouye, I am today introducing the National Parks Airspace 
Management Act of 1997, a bill designed to mitigate the impact of 
commercial air tour flights over units of the National Park System. The 
measure would establish a new, statutory framework for minimizing the 
environmental effects of air tour activity on park units. This measure 
is similar to legislation I offered in the last two Congresses.
  Briefly, our bill would specify the respective authorities of the 
National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] in 
developing and enforcing park overflight policy; establish a process 
for developing individualized airspace management plans at parks 
experiencing significant commercial air tour activity; provide for the 
designation of those parks which did not experience commercial air tour 
activity as of January 1, 1997, as flight-free parks; establish a new, 
single standard governing the certification and operation of all 
commercial air tour operators that conduct flights over national parks; 
require a variety of safety measures, such as improved aircraft 
markings, maintenance of accurate aeronautical charts, installation of 
flight monitoring equipment, and an air tour data base; and, establish 
a National Park Overflight Advisory Council.
   Mr. President, aircraft overflights of noise-sensitive areas such as 
national parks have been increasing in scope and intensity for a number 
of years, sparking significant public debate and controversy about the 
safety and environmental impact of such activity. The focus of much of 
the debate, and much of the controversy, has been the commercial air 
tour sightseeing industry, which has experienced explosive growth in 
some areas, notably at the Grand Canyon and in my own State of Hawaii. 
But significant commercial air tour activity has also been developing 
in such widely dispersed locations as Glacier National Park in Montana, 
the Utah national parks, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, and the Statue 
of Liberty and Niagara Falls in New York. In fact, at Great Smoky 
Mountains National Park, commercial air tour overflights have fostered 
such opposition that the State of Tennessee has passed legislation to 
restrict such flights.
  In 1987, precipitated by a midair collision at the Grand Canyon, 
Congress adopted the National Parks Overflights Act, Public Law 100-91. 
The act permanently banned below-the-rim flights at the Grand Canyon 
and led to a Special Federal Aviation Regulation--SFAR 50-2--
establishing flight-free zones and air corridors at the park. The act 
also established temporary altitude restrictions for Yosemite National 
Park in California and Haleakala National Park in Hawaii. Finally, 
Public Law 100-91 mandated that the Park Service conduct a study on the 
impact of low-level flights on units of the National Park System.

  Since passage of the National Parks Overflights Act, a number of 
important developments have occurred. First, in 1993 a Department of 
Transportation and Department of the Interior interagency working group 
was established to address park overflight issues of mutual concern, an 
acknowledgment by the executive branch that the issue required 
extensive interagency cooperation, but also a reflection of the deep 
differences in approach and attitude that existed between the National 
Park Service and the FAA on this contentious matter.
  In 1994, the overflights report mandated by Public Law 100-91 was 
completed, identifying and documenting low-altitude flights as threats 
to park resources and recommending a variety of means to address these 
threats, such as incentives to encourage use of quite aircraft 
technology, flight-free zones and flight corridors, altitude 
restrictions, noise budgets, and limits on times of air tour 
operations. Also in 1994, in response to a pair of helicopter crashes 
in the Pacific, the FAA issued an emergency flight rule--SFAR 71--
imposing certain altitude and other operating restrictions on air tour 
operators in Hawaii.
  More recently, last spring, the President issued an executive 
memorandum directing agency heads to participate in the effort to 
protect natural quite in National Park System units. The memorandum led 
to the final rule for the Grand Canyon, issued in December 1996, 
providing for additional, delineated restrictions on air tour activity 
at the park. The memorandum also led to a new rule promulgated earlier 
this year to ban preemptively, for 2 years or until a national rule is 
developed, flights at Rocky Mountain National Park. Finally, as a 
result of the President's memorandum, the FAA and the Park Service were 
required to develop a comprehensive, national rule governing air tour 
flights at all national parks. Work on the national rule is in the 
preliminary stages.
  While these developments have been welcome, it is fair to say that 
overall progress on the overflights issue has been desultory. For every 
Grand Canyon or Rocky Mountain, there are dozens of parks whose 
overflights problems remain completely unaddressed. In this regard, 
problems and delays associated with the development of a national rule 
have been particularly disappointing. Reportedly, the FAA and Park 
Service continue to squabble over matters of jurisdiction, and air tour 
operators and environmental organizations continue to prefer 
confrontation to accommodation. In the meantime, air tour-generated 
problems continue to accrete, exacerbating the environmental and safety 
consequences of park overflights. This experience has shown us that 
only Congress, through legislation, can produce lasting, effective 
policy on this matter.
  Mr. President, when all is said and done, the simple truth is that 
the complex problems associated with park overflights cannot be fully 
resolved administratively. In my opinion, this state of affairs is 
largely due to the fact that the FAA and the Park Service, the two 
agencies with the heaviest responsibility for addressing park 
overflights, are governed by vastly different statutory mandates. On 
the one hand, the FAA is responsible for the safety and efficiency of 
air commerce; on the other, the Park Service is charged with protecting 
and preserving park resources. These mutually exclusive missions have 
bred different approaches, attitudes, and institutional cultures that 
have hindered interagency cooperation and development of a consistent, 
effective park overflights policy. Only by modifying or clarifying 
their statutory responsibilities with respect to the management of park 
airspace can the two Federal agencies be expected to work together 
consistently and systematically to address the overflight problem.

  Mr. President, the legislation we are proposing today would address 
this and other barriers to the development of a comprehensive park 
overflights policy. Our bill deals with the commercial air tour 
overflights issue in a national context, since the safety and 
environmental concerns which are being debated so vociferously at the 
Grand Canyon and in Hawaii are being echoed at park units scattered 
throughout the National Park System.
  At the outset, our bill establishes a finding that National Park 
Service policy recognizes the importance of natural quiet as a resource 
to be conserved and protected in certain park units. Toward that end, 
our legislation creates a new statutory framework for minimizing the 
environmental effects of air tour activity on units throughout the 
National Park System.
  The bill articulates a regulatory scheme under which the Park Service

[[Page S1134]]

and the FAA are required to work in tandem to develop operational 
policies with respect to the overflights problem. It provides for joint 
administration in many areas while clearly denoting the FAA's primary 
on matters related to safety and air efficiency and the Park Service's 
lead role in identifying the resources to be protected and the best 
means of protecting them.
  The bill requires the development, with public involvement, of 
individually tailored park airspace management plans for units 
significantly affected by overflight activity, as determined by the 
Director of the Park Service. It calls for good faith negotiations 
between commercial air tour operators and both the Park Service and the 
FAA to reach agreement on flights over park areas.
  It provides for the Park Service to recommend to the FAA the 
designation of individual units as ``flight-free parks'' for those 
units which, as of January 1, 1997, experienced no overflights by 
commercial air tour operators and where air tour flights would 
be incompatible with or injurious to the purposes or values of those 
parks.

  It also mandates the development by the FAA of a generic operational 
rule for commercial air tour operations at all units of the National 
Park System, subject to modification at individual park units based on 
negotiations among air tour operators, the FAA, and the Park Service.
  Our legislation requires the FAA to implement a single standard, 
through a new subpart of part 135, title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, for certifying commercial air tour operators. Such a 
uniform standard, which has been recommended by the National 
Transportation Safety Board [NTSB], will substantially enhance safety 
by providing essential consistency in such areas as pilot 
qualifications, training, and flight and duty time limitations.
  It mandates commercial air tour safety initiatives recommended by the 
NTSB and others, including the installation of a flight monitoring 
system and the use of identification markings unique to a commercial 
air tour operator, the development of aeronautical charts which reflect 
airspace management provisions with respect to individual park units, 
and the development of a national database on air tour operations.
  Last, but by no means least, the bill establishes a National Park 
Overflight Advisory Council which would provide advice and 
recommendations to the Park Service and the FAA on all issues related 
to commercial air tour flights over park units and serve as a national 
forum for interest groups, including representatives of the air tour 
industry and the environmental community, to exchange views 
constructively.
  It is significant to note that our bill will not affect emergency 
flight operations, general aviation, military aviation, or scheduled 
commercial passenger flights that transit National Park System units. 
Furthermore, recognizing the special needs for air travel in Alaska, 
this bill will not affect the management of park units or aircraft 
operations over or within park units in the State of Alaska.
  Mr. President, I believe that the legislation we are offering today 
will give us the tools to minimize the adverse effects of commercial 
air tour flights on park resources as well as on the ground visitor 
experience, while at the same time enhancing the safety of such 
flights. I believe it is a balanced measure that, through extensive 
opportunity for public involvement, attempts to accommodate the 
legitimate concerns of all park users, including air tour operators and 
passengers. Indeed, I strongly believe that under certain well-
regulated conditions, air tourism provides an important service to many 
elderly, disabled, or other visitors who might otherwise never enjoy 
the wonders of our national parks.
  Nevertheless, our bill's central premise is that the 369 park units 
of the National Park System were created because of their exceptional 
natural or cultural significance to the American people. All of the 
provisions of the National Parks Airspace Management Act are therefore 
designed with the protection of park resources as their essential, if 
not exclusive, goal. For it is self-evident that a park whose values 
have been corrupted is a park ultimately not worth visiting, by air or 
land.
  Mr. President, in closing, I would like to acknowledge the fact that 
the senior Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain] earlier this week 
introduced related legislation on park overflights. While his bill 
differs from ours in some details, the intent of both measures is the 
same--to mitigate the adverse effects of air tours flights on our 
national parks. Given our common goal, I hope that we can work together 
in crafting an effective, bipartisan approach to this troubling and 
divisive issue.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I urge my colleagues to support the 
National Parks Airspace Management Act of 1997. I ask unanimous consent 
that a copy of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 291

       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 Airspace 
     Management Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Commercial air tour flights over units of the National 
     Park System (referred to in this Act as ``units'') may have 
     adverse effects on the units.
       (2) The flights may degrade the experiences of visitors to 
     the affected areas and may have adverse effects on wildlife 
     and cultural resources in those areas.
       (3) A significant number of complaints about commercial air 
     tour flights over certain areas under the jurisdiction of the 
     National Park Service have been registered.
       (4) Although resource preservation is the primary 
     responsibility of the National Park Service, the agency 
     continues to struggle to develop a policy that would achieve 
     an acceptable balance between flights over units by 
     commercial air tour operators and the protection of resources 
     in the units and the experiences of visitors to the units.
       (5) Although the mission of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration is to develop and maintain a safe and 
     efficient system of air transportation while considering the 
     impact of aircraft noise, the agency continues to have 
     difficulty adequately controlling commercial air tour flights 
     over units.
       (6) Significant and continuing concerns exist regarding the 
     safety of commercial air tour flights over some units, 
     including concerns for the safety of occupants of the 
     flights, visitors to those units, Federal employees at those 
     units, and the general public.
       (7) The concern of the Congress over the effects of low-
     level flights on units led to the enactment, on August 18, 
     1987, of the Act entitled ``An Act to require the Secretary 
     of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the 
     appropriate minimum altitude for aircraft flying over 
     national park system units'' (Public Law 100-91; 101 Stat. 
     674; 16 U.S.C. 1a-1 note).
       (8) The Act referred to in paragraph (7) requires the 
     Director of the National Park Service to identify problems 
     associated with flights by aircraft in the airspace over 
     units.
       (9) Pursuant to the Act referred to in paragraph (7), on 
     September 12, 1994, the Director submitted a report to 
     Congress entitled ``Report On Effects Of Aircraft Overflights 
     On The National Park System''.
       (10) The National Park Service report concluded that, 
     because the details of national park overflights problems are 
     park-specific, no single altitude can be identified for the 
     entire National Park System.
       (11) The National Park Service report presented a number of 
     recommendations for resolution of the problem of national 
     park overflights, including--
       (A) the development of airspace and park use resolution 
     processes;
       (B) the development of a single operational rule to 
     regulate air tour operations;
       (C) seeking continued improvements in safety and 
     interagency planning related to airspace management; and
       (D) the development of a Federal Aviation Administration 
     rule to facilitate preservation of natural quiet.
       (12) The policy of the National Park Service recognizes the 
     importance of natural quiet as a resource to be conserved and 
     protected in certain units.
       (13) The National Park Service--
       (A) defines natural quiet as ``the natural ambient sound 
     conditions found in certain units of the National Park 
     Service''; and
       (B) recognizes that visitors to certain units may 
     reasonably expect quiet during their visits to those units 
     established with the specific goal of providing visitors with 
     an opportunity for solitude.
       (14) The number of flights by aircraft over units has 
     increased rapidly since the date of enactment of the Act 
     referred to in paragraph (7) and, due to the high degree of 
     satisfaction expressed by air tour passengers, as well as the 
     economic impact of air tour operations on the tourist 
     industry, the number of flights will likely continue to 
     increase.
       (15) A progression of aesthetic and safety concerns about 
     low altitude flights have been associated with growth in 
     commercial air tour traffic.

[[Page S1135]]

       (16) As the number of flights over units continues to 
     increase, the likelihood exists that there will be a 
     concomitant increase in the number of conflicts regarding 
     management of the airspace over the units.
       (17) A need exists for a Federal policy to address the 
     conflicts and problems associated with flights by commercial 
     air tour aircraft in the airspace over units.
       (18) A statutory process should be established to require 
     the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the 
     Interior, acting through the Director, to work together to 
     mitigate the impact of commercial air tour operations on 
     units, or specific areas within units that are adversely 
     affected by commercial air tour operations.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
       (2) Agreement.--The term ``agreement'' means an agreement 
     entered into by a commercial air tour operator, the Director, 
     and the Administrator under section 4(h) that provides for 
     the application of relevant provisions of an airspace 
     management plan for the unit concerned to the commercial air 
     tour operator.
       (3) Air tour aircraft.--The term ``air tour aircraft'' 
     means an aircraft (including a fixed-wing aircraft or a 
     rotorcraft) that makes air tour flights.
       (4) Air tour flight.--The term ``air tour flight'' means a 
     passenger flight conducted by air tour aircraft for the 
     purpose of permitting a passenger to the flight to view an 
     area over which the flight occurs.
       (5) Commercial air tour aircraft.--The term ``commercial 
     air tour aircraft'' means any air tour aircraft used by a 
     commercial air tour operator in providing air tour flights 
     for hire to the public.
       (6) Commercial air tour operator.--The term ``commercial 
     air tour operator'' means a company, corporation, 
     partnership, individual, or other entity that provides air 
     tour flights for hire to the public.
       (7) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the National Park 
     Overflight Advisory Council established under section 9.
       (8) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the National Park Service.
       (9) Flight-free park.--The term ``flight-free park'' means 
     a unit over which commercial air tour operations are 
     prohibited.
       (10) Unit.--The term ``unit'' means a unit of the National 
     Park System.

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL PARK AIRSPACE MANAGEMENT PLANS.

       (a) In General.--The Director and the Administrator shall, 
     in accordance with this section, develop and establish a plan 
     for the management of the airspace above each unit that is 
     affected by commercial air tour flights to the extent that 
     the Director considers the unit to be a unit requiring an 
     airspace management plan.
       (b) Purpose of Plans.--The purpose of each plan developed 
     under subsection (a) is to minimize the adverse effects of 
     commercial air tour flights on the resources of a unit.
       (c) Development of Airspace Management Plans.--
       (1) Treatment of relevant expertise.--In developing plans 
     under subsection (a)--
       (A) the Administrator shall defer to the Director in 
     matters relating to the identification and protection of park 
     resources; and
       (B) the Director shall defer to the Administrator in 
     matters relating to the safe and efficient management of 
     airspace.
       (2) Negotiated rulemaking.--In developing a plan for a 
     unit, the Director and the Administrator shall consider 
     utilizing negotiated rulemaking procedures as specified under 
     subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, 
     if the Director and the Administrator determine that the 
     utilization of those procedures is in the public interest.
       (d) Comment on Plans.--In developing a plan for a unit, the 
     Director and the Administrator shall--
       (1) ensure that there is sufficient opportunity for public 
     comment by air tour operators, environmental organizations, 
     and other concerned parties; and
       (2) give due consideration to the comments and 
     recommendations of the Council and the Federal Interagency 
     Airspace/Natural Resource Coordination Group, or any 
     successor organization to that entity.
       (e) Resolution of Plan Inadequacies.--If the Director and 
     the Administrator disagree with respect to any portion of a 
     proposed plan under subsection (a)--
       (1) the Director and the Administrator shall refer the 
     proposed plan to the Secretary of the Interior and the 
     Secretary of Transportation; and
       (2) the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
     Transportation shall jointly resolve the disagreement.
       (f) Assessment of Effects of Overflights.--The Director and 
     the Administrator may jointly conduct studies to ascertain 
     the effects of low-level flights of commercial air tour 
     aircraft over units that the Director and the Administrator 
     consider necessary for the development of plans under 
     subsection (a).
       (g) Periodic Review.--
       (1) In general.--Not less frequently than every 5 years 
     after the date of establishment of a plan under subsection 
     (a), the Director and the Administrator shall review the 
     plan.
       (2) Purpose of review.--The purpose of the review shall be 
     to ensure that the plan continues to meet the purposes for 
     the plan.
       (3) Revision.--The Director and the Administrator may 
     revise a plan if they jointly determine, based on that 
     review, that the revision is advisable.
       (h) Flights Over Units Covered by Plans.--
       (1) Agreement.--A commercial air tour operator may not 
     conduct commercial air tour flights in the airspace over a 
     unit covered by an airspace management plan developed under 
     subsection (a) unless the commercial air tour operator enters 
     into an agreement with the Director and the Administrator 
     that authorizes such flights.
       (2) Contents.--An agreement under paragraph (1) shall--
       (A) provide for the application of relevant provisions of 
     the airspace management plan for the unit concerned to the 
     commercial air tour operator; and
       (B) to the maximum extent practicable, provide for the 
     conduct of air tour flights by the air tour operator in a 
     manner that minimizes the adverse effects of the air tour 
     flights on the environment of the unit.

     SEC. 5. FLIGHT-FREE PARKS.

       For units that, as of January 1, 1997, experienced no 
     overflights by commercial air tour operators, the Director, 
     in consultation with the Administrator, shall--
       (1) prescribe criteria to identify units where air tour 
     flights by commercial air tour aircraft would be incompatible 
     with or injurious to the purposes and values for which the 
     units were established;
       (2) identify any units that meet those criteria; and
       (3) designate those units as ``flight-free park'' units.

     SEC. 6. SINGLE OPERATIONAL RULE FOR COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR 
                   OPERATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
     Administrator, after notice and hearing on the record, shall 
     issue a regulation governing the operation of all air tour 
     aircraft flights by commercial air tour operators over units.
       (b) Separate Operational Rules.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator may issue regulations 
     that prescribe separate operational rules governing the 
     conduct of flights by fixed-wing aircraft and by rotorcraft 
     if the Administrator determines under subsection (a) that 
     separate rules are warranted.
       (2) Development of operational rule.--In developing an 
     operational rule under paragraph (1), the Administrator 
     shall--
       (A) consider whether differences in the characteristics and 
     effects on the environment of fixed-wing aircraft and 
     rotorcraft warrant the development of separate operational 
     rules with respect to that craft;
       (B) provide a mechanism for the Director to recommend 
     individual units or geographically proximate groups of units 
     to be designated as aerial sightseeing areas, as defined by 
     section 92.01 of the Federal Aviation Administration 
     Handbook, dated January 1992; and
       (C) provide a mechanism for the Director to obtain 
     immediate assistance from the Administrator in resolving 
     issues relating to the use of airspace above units with 
     respect to which the issues are of a critical, time-sensitive 
     nature.
       (c) Effect on Agreements.--Nothing in this section is 
     intended to preclude the Administrator, the Director, and a 
     commercial air tour operator from entering into, under 
     section 4(h), an agreement on the conduct of air tour flights 
     by the air tour operator over a particular unit under 
     different terms and conditions from those imposed by an 
     operational rule issued under this subsection.

     SEC. 7. AIRCRAFT SAFETY.

       (a) Development of a Single Standard for Certifying 
     Commercial Air Tour Operators.--
       (1) Commencement of rulemaking.--The Administrator shall 
     initiate formal rulemaking proceedings (which shall include a 
     hearing on the record) for the purpose of revising the 
     regulations contained in part 135 of title 14, Code of 
     Federal Regulations (relating to air taxi operators and 
     commercial operators), to prescribe a new subpart to 
     specifically cover all commercial air tour operators (as that 
     term shall be defined by the Administrator under the subpart) 
     that conduct commercial air tour flights over units.
       (2) Covered matters.--The regulations issued under 
     subsection (a) shall address safety and environmental issues 
     with respect to commercial air tour flights over units. In 
     issuing the regulations, the Administrator shall attempt to 
     minimize the financial and administrative burdens imposed on 
     commercial air tour operators.
       (b) Aircraft Markings.--
       (1) Requirement.--Each operator of commercial air tour 
     aircraft shall display on each air tour aircraft of the 
     operator the identification marks described in paragraph (2).
       (2) Identification marks.--The identification marks for the 
     aircraft of a commercial air tour operator shall--
       (A) be unique to the operator;
       (B) be not less than 36 inches in length (or a size 
     consistent with the natural configuration of the aircraft 
     fuselage);
       (C) appear on both sides of the air tour aircraft of the 
     air tour operator and on the underside of the aircraft; and
       (D) be applied to the air tour aircraft of the air tour 
     operator in a highly visible color that contrasts sharply 
     with the original base color paint scheme of the aircraft.
       (c) Aeronautical Charts.--The Administrator shall ensure 
     that the boundaries of

[[Page S1136]]

     each unit and the provisions of the airspace management plan, 
     operational rule, or Special Federal Aviation Regulation 
     (SFAR), if any, with respect to each unit are accurately 
     displayed on aeronautical charts.
       (d) Flight Monitoring Systems.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator shall carry out a study 
     of the feasibility and advisability of requiring that 
     commercial air tour aircraft operating in the airspace over 
     units have onboard an automatic flight tracking system 
     capable of monitoring the altitude and ground position of the 
     commercial air tour aircraft.
       (2) Determination by administrator.--If the Administrator 
     determines under the study required under paragraph (1) that 
     the use of flight tracking systems in commercial air tour 
     aircraft is feasible and advisable, the Administrator and the 
     Director shall jointly develop a plan for implementing a 
     program to monitor the altitude and position of commercial 
     air tour aircraft over units.
       (e) National Data Base for Commercial Air Tour Operators.--
     The Administrator shall--
       (1) establish and maintain a data base concerning all 
     commercial air tour aircraft operated by commercial air tour 
     operators that shall be designed to provide data that shall 
     be used in making--
       (A) determinations of--
       (i) the scope of commercial air tour flights; and
       (ii) accident rates for commercial air tour flights; and
       (B) assessments of the safety of commercial air tour 
     flights; and
       (2) on the basis of the information in the data base 
     established under paragraph (1), ensure that each flight 
     standards district office of the Administration that serves a 
     district in which commercial air tour operators conduct 
     commercial air tour flights is adequately staffed to carry 
     out the purposes of this Act.

     SEC. 8. EXCEPTIONS.

       (a) Flight Emergencies.--This Act does not apply to any 
     aircraft--
       (1) experiencing an in-flight emergency;
       (2) participating in search and rescue, firefighting or 
     police emergency operations;
       (3) carrying out park administration or maintenance 
     operations; or
       (4) complying with air traffic control instructions.
       (b) Flights by Military Aircraft.--This Act does not apply 
     to flights by military aircraft, except that the Secretary of 
     Defense is encouraged to work jointly with the Secretary of 
     Transportation and the Secretary of the Interior in pursuing 
     means to mitigate the impact of military flights over units.
       (c) Flights for Commercial Aerial Photography.--The 
     Director and the Administrator shall jointly develop 
     restrictions and fee schedules for aircraft or rotorcraft 
     engaged in commercial aerial photography over units at 
     altitudes that the Director and the Administrator determine 
     will impact adversely the resources and values of affected 
     units.

     SEC. 9. NATIONAL PARK OVERFLIGHT ADVISORY COUNCIL.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be 
     known as the ``National Park Overflight Advisory Council''.
       (b) Membership.--
       (1) In general.--The Council shall be comprised of the 
     following members:
       (A) Members from each of the following groups, appointed 
     jointly by the Director and the Administrator:
       (i) Environmental or conservation organizations, citizens' 
     groups, and other groups with similar interests.
       (ii) The commercial air tour industry and organizations 
     with similar interests.
       (B) Representatives of departments or agencies of the 
     Federal Government.
       (C) Such other persons as the Administrator and the 
     Director consider appropriate.
       (c) Duties.--The Council shall--
       (1) determine the effects of commercial air tour flights in 
     the airspace over the units on the environment of the units;
       (2) determine the economic effects of restrictions or 
     prohibitions on the flights;
       (3) solicit and receive comments from interested 
     individuals and groups on the flights;
       (4) develop recommendations for means of reducing the 
     adverse effects of the flights on the units;
       (5) explore financial and other incentives that could 
     encourage manufacturers to advance the state-of-the-art in 
     quiet aircraft and rotorcraft technology and encourage 
     commercial air tour operators to implement the technology in 
     flights over units;
       (6) provide comments and recommendations to the Director 
     and the Administrator under section 4;
       (7) provide advice or recommendations to the Director, the 
     Administrator, and other appropriate individuals and groups 
     on matters relating to flights over units; and
       (8) carry out such other activities as the Director and the 
     Administrator jointly consider appropriate.
       (d) Meetings.--The Council shall first meet not later than 
     180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and shall 
     meet thereafter at the call of a majority of the members of 
     the Council.
       (e) Administration.--
       (1) Compensation of non-federal members.--Members of the 
     Council who are not officers or employees of the Federal 
     Government shall serve without compensation for their work on 
     the Council, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including 
     per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as 
     persons employed intermittently in Government service under 
     section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code, to the extent 
     funds are available for that purpose.
       (2) Compensation of federal members.--Members of the 
     Council who are officers or employees of the Federal 
     Government shall serve without compensation for their work on 
     the Council other than that compensation received in their 
     regular public employment, but shall be allowed travel 
     expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as 
     authorized by law, to the extent funds are available for that 
     purpose.
       (f) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the initial 
     meeting of the Council, and annually thereafter, the Council 
     shall submit to Congress, the Administrator, and the Director 
     a report that--
       (1) describes the activities of the Council under this 
     section during the preceding year; and
       (2) sets forth the findings and recommendations of the 
     Council on matters related to the mitigation of the effects 
     on units of flights of commercial air tour operators over 
     units.
       (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
     to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
     the provisions of this section.

     SEC. 10. EXEMPTION FOR STATE OF ALASKA.

       Nothing in this Act shall affect--
       (1) the management of units in the State of Alaska; or
       (2) any aircraft operations over or within units in the 
     State of Alaska.

                          ____________________