[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 194 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8738-S8739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 2019. A bill to require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration to prescribe regulations to reduce helicopter noise 
pollution in certain residential areas, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Los Angeles 
Residential Helicopter Noise Relief Act of 2011, which is cosponsored 
by Senator Boxer.
  This legislation is very simple. It directs the Federal Aviation 
Administration to develop and enforce regulations to control helicopter 
noise and improve helicopter safety above Los Angeles.
  FAA must complete the regulations within three years, in consultation 
with the local community, and it must include an exemption for public 
safety aircraft.
  The bill is a companion to legislation with the same name introduced 
by Representative Berman.
  This legislation is long overdue.
  Under current law, helicopter pilots can and do fly practically 
wherever they want above Los Angeles, and no agency limits their 
activity.

[[Page S8739]]

  The Federal Aviation Administration controls our Nation's airspace 
exclusively, but it imposes no restrictions on helicopter flight paths, 
elevation, or hovering.
  If a helicopter wants to hover over a home in Los Angeles for an 
hour, it can.
  One neighborhood leader told the New York Times this summer that he 
was afraid of complaining too loudly about the noise helicopters create 
because he feared helicopter operators would retaliate, legally, by 
parking over his house.
  City officials and State agencies permit the location of helicopter 
landing pads, but they have absolutely no power to govern what the 
chopper does once it takes off. They can do nothing to discourage 
tourist pilots from flying low and banking hard for the promise of a 
tip.
  Bottom Line: This is, for all intents and purposes, an unregulated 
industry.
  This reality is increasingly frustrating to Los Angeles residents who 
are experiencing what many people say is the most intense period of 
helicopter use in memory.
  Every day brings a steady swarm of helicopters buzzing above Southern 
California's bedroom communities in what many officials say are greater 
numbers than ever before.
  There are media helicopters, traffic helicopters, tour helicopters, 
paparazzi and film crew helicopters, corporate helicopters and private 
commuter helicopters.
  Downtown L.A. has a helicopter parking lot in the clouds; helipads 
lie atop nearly every skyscraper.
  But the city's residents may have finally reached their breaking 
point in July, after two consecutive weekends of extreme helicopter 
noise.
  First, the helicopters hovered for hours on end as Prince William and 
his new bride, Kate, settled into Hancock Park, a Los Angeles 
community.
  Then, a week later, the helicopters monitoring the impact of closing 
Interstate 405 were even worse.
  Los Angeles resident Sue Rosen told the New York Times that there 
were, at any given time, at least five helicopters hovering over her 
house watching the 405. ``The noise was nerve-wracking,'' she said. 
``The house was vibrating.''
  The same week, a helicopter thumped loudly above the Hollywood Bowl 
at the exact moment Gustavo Dudamel was leading the Los Angeles 
Philharmonic through the adagio in the overture to Mozart's ``Abduction 
From the Seraglio.''
  Although the Hollywood Bowl has worked aggressively with helicopter 
operators to establish a voluntary no-fly zone during concert nights, 
they have no power to enforce it, and pilots ignore it.
  Noise from helicopters above the Hollywood bowl has been so loud some 
years that the Symphony had to stop playing.
  As one pilot explained: the Hollywood Bowl managers ``are always 
calling the towers telling them to get us away. But they can't do 
anything.'' Only FAA can act.
  Only the FAA has the authority to improve the lives of millions of 
Californians bothered by helicopters by establishing common sense rules 
that increase safety and reduce noise.
  But to date, FAA leaders have ignored this problem. In fact, FAA has 
not even tracked noise and annoyance complaints.
  This bill directs the FAA to take this matter seriously.
  FAA would be required to bring about safer, more pleasant skies above 
Los Angeles in cooperation with the local communities.
  The air above our cities is a common Federal resource that only 
Congress has the power to protect, and today the air above Los Angeles 
is polluted with helicopter noise.
  This is therefore a very important bill for the quality of life in 
America's second largest city.
  I hope my colleagues will support this legislation and work with us 
to enact it as part of FAA reauthorization.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2019

       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 ``Los Angeles Residential 
     Helicopter Noise Relief Act of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. REGULATIONS TO REDUCE HELICOPTER NOISE POLLUTION IN 
                   CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.

       (a) Regulations Required.--Not later than 3 years after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
     Federal Aviation Administration shall prescribe regulations 
     for helicopter operations in Los Angeles County, California, 
     that include requirements relating to the flight paths and 
     altitudes associated with such operations to reduce 
     helicopter noise pollution in residential areas, increase 
     safety, and minimize commercial aircraft delays.
       (b) Exemptions.--In prescribing regulations under 
     subsection (a), the Administrator shall exempt helicopter 
     operations related to emergency, law enforcement, or military 
     activities from the requirements described in that 
     subsection.
       (c) Consultations.--In prescribing regulations under 
     subsection (a), the Administrator shall make reasonable 
     efforts to consult with local communities and local 
     helicopter operators in order to develop regulations that 
     meet the needs of local communities, helicopter operators, 
     and the Federal Aviation Administration.
                                 ______