Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 389 To impose safety requirements on commercial air tour flights, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 21, 2021 Mr. CASE (for himself, Mr. SIRES, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. NADLER, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To impose safety requirements on commercial air tour flights, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe and Quiet Skies 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR 6 FLIGHTS. 7 (a) PROHIBITION OF OVERFLIGHTS.—Notwith- 8 standing any other provision of law, a commercial air tour 9 may not operate within a half mile of the following: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 389 IH (1) A military installation. 1 (2) A national cemetery. 2 (3) A unit of the National Wilderness Preserva- 3 tion System. 4 (4) A unit of the National Park System. 5 (5) A unit of the National Wildlife Refuge Sys- 6 tem. 7 (b) USE OF AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEIL- 8 LANCE-BROADCAST (ADS–B) OUT EQUIPMENT.—The 9 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 10 shall revise section 91.227 of title 14, Code of Federal 11 Regulations, to require the use of ADS–B Out (as such 12 term is defined in such section) during the entire oper- 13 ation of a commercial air tour. 14 (c) STERILE COCKPIT RULE.—The Administrator 15 shall issue such regulations as are necessary to— 16 (1) impose the requirements of section 121.542 17 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, on a com- 18 mercial air tour and a pilot of a commercial air tour 19 (including a commercial air tour that does not hold 20 a certificate under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed- 21 eral Regulations); 22 (2) define tour-giving and providing an oral 23 narration of the air tour as duties that are not re- 24 quired for the safe operation of the aircraft for a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 389 IH commercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 1 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 2 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations); and 3 (3) define a critical phase of flight for a com- 4 mercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 5 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 6 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) to include all 7 ground operations involving taxi, takeoff, and land- 8 ing, and all other flight operations regardless of alti- 9 tude of operation. 10 (d) MINIMUM ALTITUDES.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 12 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op- 13 erate at an altitude of less than 1,500 feet. 14 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 15 (A) SAFE HARBOR.—An operator of a 16 commercial air tour may fly below the altitude 17 described in paragraph (1) for reasons of safety 18 if unpredictable circumstances occur. 19 (B) FAA REQUIREMENTS.—The Adminis- 20 trator may permit an operator of a commercial 21 air tour to operate below the altitude described 22 in paragraph (1) for flight operations for take- 23 off and landing. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 389 IH (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If a reasonable 1 individual would believe a commercial air tour could 2 not safely fly at a minimum altitude of 1,500 feet 3 for the duration of the flight given the conditions at 4 takeoff, the safe harbor described in paragraph 5 (2)(A) shall not apply. 6 (e) OCCUPIED AREAS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 8 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op- 9 erate within half a mile of an occupied area unless 10 the aircraft has noise suppression technology that 11 brings noise to the lesser of— 12 (A) a maximum level of 55 dbA as meas- 13 ured from such occupied area; and 14 (B) a maximum level required in such oc- 15 cupied area by a requirement imposed pursuant 16 to section 3(a) of this Act or section 40128(e) 17 of title 49, United States Code. 18 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall 19 revise subparts F and H of part 36 of title 14, Code 20 of Federal Regulations, and related appendices, to 21 reduce noise limits in accordance with paragraph 22 (1). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 389 IH SEC. 3. DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO STATE AND LOCAL 1 REGULATORS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 3 sion of law, a State or locality may impose additional re- 4 quirements on commercial air tours (but may not waive 5 any requirements described in this Act or in the amend- 6 ments made by this Act), including— 7 (1) banning such tours; 8 (2) imposing day and time flight restrictions; 9 (3) regulating the total number of flights per 10 day; 11 (4) regulating route requirements over occupied 12 areas; 13 (5) prohibiting flights over State or local parks, 14 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 15 State interest; and 16 (6) requiring commercial air tours to operate at 17 lower decibels for purposes of noise requirements. 18 (b) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator may in- 19 validate a requirement imposed pursuant to subsection (a) 20 if required for flight operations for takeoff and landing. 21 SEC. 4. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT FEDERAL 22 AND STATE REGULATORY PROCESS. 23 During the promulgation of any regulation required 24 by this Act or the drafting and update of the Air Tours 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 389 IH Common Procedural Manuals, the requirements of the Ad- 1 ministrative Procedure Act shall apply. 2 SEC. 5. PENALTIES. 3 The Administrator shall impose penalties for viola- 4 tions of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, 5 including revoking any certifications or permits issued to 6 operate a commercial air tour. 7 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 8 Section 40128 of title 49, United States Code, is 9 amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘a national park or’’ in each 11 place in which it appears; 12 (2) by striking ‘‘park or’’ in each place in which 13 it appears; 14 (3) in subsection (a)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘or vol- 15 untary agreement under subsection (b)(7)’’; 16 (4) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting 17 the following: 18 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR- 19 ITY.—Before commencing commercial air tour oper- 20 ations over tribal lands, a commercial air tour oper- 21 ator shall apply to the Administrator for authority 22 to conduct the operations over the tribal lands.’’; 23 (5) by striking subsection (a)(3); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 389 IH (6) by redesignating paragraph (4) of sub- 1 section (a) as paragraph (3); 2 (7) by striking subsection (a)(5); 3 (8) in subsection (b)(1)(A)— 4 (A) by striking ‘‘over the park’’ and insert- 5 ing ‘‘over the lands’’; and 6 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ and in- 7 serting ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 8 (9) by striking subsection (b)(1)(C); 9 (10) by striking subsection (b)(3); 10 (11) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 11 (6) of subsection (b) as paragraphs (3) through (5), 12 respectively; 13 (12) by striking subsection (b)(7); 14 (13) by striking subsection (c)(2)(B); 15 (14) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 16 through (I) of subsection (c)(2) as subparagraphs 17 (B) through (H), respectively; 18 (15) in subsection (c)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘at 19 the’’ in each place in which it appears; 20 (16) in subsection (d)(1)— 21 (A) by striking ‘‘over a national park 22 under interim operating authority granted 23 under subsection (c) or’’; and 24 (B) by striking ‘‘or voluntary agreement’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 389 IH (17) by striking subsection (e); 1 (18) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 2 following: 3 ‘‘(e) TRIBAL AUTHORITY.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 5 provision of law, a tribal entity may impose addi- 6 tional requirements on commercial air tours (but 7 may not waive any requirements described in the 8 Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 2021 or in the amend- 9 ments made by the Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 10 2021), including— 11 ‘‘(A) banning such tours; 12 ‘‘(B) imposing day and time flight restric- 13 tions; 14 ‘‘(C) regulating the total number of flights 15 per day; 16 ‘‘(D) regulating route requirements over 17 occupied areas; 18 ‘‘(E) prohibiting flights over tribal parks, 19 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 20 tribal interest; and 21 ‘‘(F) requiring commercial air tours to op- 22 erate at lower decibels for purposes of noise re- 23 quirements. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 389 IH ‘‘(2) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator of 1 the Federal Aviation Administration may invalidate 2 a regulation imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) if 3 required for flight operations for takeoff and land- 4 ing. 5 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL ENTITY.—In this subsection, the 6 term ‘tribal entity’ means— 7 ‘‘(A) a tribal organization (as such term is 8 defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter- 9 mination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 10 (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 11 ‘‘(B) a tribally designated housing entity 12 (as such term is defined in section 4 of the Na- 13 tive American Housing Assistance and Self-De- 14 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)); or 15 ‘‘(C) an Indian-owned business or a tribal 16 enterprise (as such terms are defined in section 17 3 of the Native American Business Develop- 18 ment, Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 19 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302)).’’; 20 (19) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘over a 21 national park’’ and inserting ‘‘over tribal lands’’; 22 (20) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ‘‘over a 23 national park’’ and inserting ‘‘over tribal lands’’; 24 (21) by striking subsection (g)(4); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 389 IH (22) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 1 (8) of subsection (g) as paragraphs (4) through (7), 2 respectively; and 3 (23) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub- 4 section (f). 5 SEC. 7. NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall imple- 7 ment all recommendations concerning operators under 8 part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, that— 9 (1) were issued by the National Transportation 10 Safety Board; and 11 (2) are considered by the Board to be open un- 12 acceptable response. 13 (b) PART 135 REGULATION.—The Administrator— 14 (1) shall require all commercial air tours to op- 15 erate pursuant to part 135 of title 14, Code of Fed- 16 eral Regulations; and 17 (2) may not permit a commercial air tour to op- 18 erate pursuant to part 91 of title 14, Code of Fed- 19 eral Regulations. 20 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 23 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 24 Aviation Administration. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 389 IH (2) ALTITUDE.—The term ‘‘altitude’’ means 1 the distance above ground level between an aircraft 2 and the highest obstacle that is within 2 miles of the 3 location over which such aircraft is flying at any 4 time. 5 (3) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘‘com- 6 mercial air tour’’ means any flight conducted for 7 compensation or hire in a powered aircraft where a 8 purpose of the flight is sightseeing or intentional 9 parachuting. If the operator of a flight asserts that 10 the flight is not a commercial air tour, factors that 11 can be considered by the Administrator in making a 12 determination of whether the flight is a commercial 13 air tour include— 14 (A) whether there was a holding out to the 15 public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing or 16 intentional parachuting flight for compensation 17 or hire; 18 (B) whether a narrative was provided that 19 referred to areas or points of interest on the 20 surface; 21 (C) the area of operation; 22 (D) the frequency of flights; 23 (E) the route of flight; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 389 IH (F) the inclusion of sightseeing or inten- 1 tional parachuting flights as part of any travel 2 arrangement package; or 3 (G) whether the flight in question would or 4 would not have been canceled based on poor vis- 5 ibility of the surface. 6 (4) dbA.—The term ‘‘dbA’’ means the A- 7 weighted sound level or unit of measurement de- 8 scribing the total sound level of all noises as meas- 9 ured with a sound level meter using the A weighting 10 network. 11 (5) OCCUPIED AREA.—The term ‘‘occupied 12 area’’ means land area that is used by people, in- 13 cluding residential areas, commercial areas, and rec- 14 reational areas. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:05 Feb 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H389.IH H389 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS