Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4547 To impose safety requirements on commercial air tour flights, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 Mr. CASE (for himself and Mr. SHERMAN) 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 2019’’. 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 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4547 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 shall revise section 91.227 of title 14, Code 10 of Federal Regulations, to require the use of ADS–B Out 11 (as such term is defined in such section) during the entire 12 operation of a commercial air tour. 13 (c) STERILE COCKPIT RULE.—The Administrator 14 shall issue such regulations as are necessary to— 15 (1) impose the requirements of section 121.542 16 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, on a com- 17 mercial air tour and a pilot of a commercial air tour 18 (including a commercial air tour that does not hold 19 a certificate under part 121 of title 14, Code of Fed- 20 eral Regulations); 21 (2) define tour-giving and providing an oral 22 narration of the air tour as duties that are not re- 23 quired for the safe operation of the aircraft for a 24 commercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4547 IH that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 1 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations); and 2 (3) define a critical phase of flight for a com- 3 mercial air tour (including a commercial air tour 4 that does not hold a certificate under part 121 of 5 title 14, Code of Federal Regulations) to include all 6 ground operations involving taxi, takeoff, and land- 7 ing, and all other flight operations regardless of alti- 8 tude of operation. 9 (d) MINIMUM ALTITUDES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 11 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op- 12 erate at an altitude of less than 1,500 feet. 13 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 14 (A) SAFE HARBOR.—An operator of a 15 commercial air tour may fly below the altitude 16 described in paragraph (1) for reasons of safety 17 if unpredictable circumstances occur. 18 (B) FAA REQUIREMENTS.—The Adminis- 19 trator may permit an operator of a commercial 20 air tour to operate below the altitude described 21 in paragraph (1) for flight operations for take- 22 off and landing. 23 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If a reasonable 24 individual would believe a commercial air tour could 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4547 IH not safely fly at a minimum altitude of 1,500 feet 1 for the duration of the flight given the conditions at 2 takeoff, the safe harbor described in paragraph 3 (2)(A) shall not apply. 4 (e) OCCUPIED AREAS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 6 provision of law, a commercial air tour may not op- 7 erate within half a mile of an occupied area unless 8 the aircraft has noise suppression technology that 9 brings noise to the lesser of— 10 (A) a maximum level of 55 dbA as meas- 11 ured from such occupied area; and 12 (B) a maximum level required in such oc- 13 cupied area by a requirement imposed pursuant 14 to section 3(a) of this Act or section 40128(f) 15 of title 49, United States Code. 16 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall 17 revise subparts F and H of part 36 of title 14, Code 18 of Federal Regulations, and related appendices, to 19 reduce noise limits in accordance with paragraph 20 (1). 21 SEC. 3. DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO STATE AND LOCAL 22 REGULATORS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 24 sion of law, a State or locality may impose additional re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4547 IH quirements on commercial air tours (but may not waive 1 any requirements described in this Act or in the amend- 2 ments made by this Act), including— 3 (1) banning such tours; 4 (2) imposing day and time flight restrictions; 5 (3) regulating the total number of flights per 6 day; 7 (4) regulating route requirements over occupied 8 areas; 9 (5) prohibiting flights over State or local parks, 10 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 11 State interest; and 12 (6) requiring commercial air tours to operate at 13 lower decibels for purposes of noise requirements. 14 (b) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator may in- 15 validate a requirement imposed pursuant to subsection (a) 16 if required for flight operations for takeoff and landing. 17 SEC. 4. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT FEDERAL 18 AND STATE REGULATORY PROCESS. 19 During the promulgation of any regulation required 20 by this Act or the drafting and update of the Air Tours 21 Common Procedural Manuals, the requirements of the Ad- 22 ministrative Procedure Act shall apply. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4547 IH SEC. 5. PENALTIES. 1 The Administrator shall impose penalties for viola- 2 tions of this Act or the amendments made by this Act, 3 including revoking any certifications or permits issued to 4 operate a commercial air tour. 5 SEC. 6. CONFORMING EDITS. 6 Section 40128 of title 49, United States Code, is 7 amended— 8 (1) by striking ‘‘a national park or’’ in each 9 place in which it appears; 10 (2) by striking ‘‘park or’’ in each place in which 11 it appears; 12 (3) by striking subsection (a)(2) and inserting 13 the following: 14 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHOR- 15 ITY.—Before commencing commercial air tour oper- 16 ations over tribal lands, a commercial air tour oper- 17 ator shall apply to the Administrator for authority 18 to conduct the operations over the tribal lands.’’; 19 (4) by striking subsection (a)(3); 20 (5) by striking subsection (a)(5); 21 (6) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘over 22 the park’’ and inserting ‘‘over the lands’’; 23 (7) by striking subsection (b)(1)(C); 24 (8) by striking subsection (b)(3); 25 (9) by striking subsection (b)(7); 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4547 IH (10) by striking subsection (c)(2)(B); 1 (11) in subsection (c)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘at 2 the’’ in each place in which it appears; 3 (12) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘over a 4 national park under interim operating authority 5 granted under subsection (c) or’’; 6 (13) by striking subsection (e); 7 (14) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 8 following: 9 ‘‘(f) TRIBAL AUTHORITY.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 11 provision of law, a tribal entity may impose addi- 12 tional requirements on commercial air tours (but 13 may not waive any requirements described in the 14 Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 2019 or in the amend- 15 ments made by the Safe and Quiet Skies Act of 16 2019), including— 17 ‘‘(A) banning such tours; 18 ‘‘(B) imposing day and time flight restric- 19 tions; 20 ‘‘(C) regulating the total number of flights 21 per day; 22 ‘‘(D) regulating route requirements over 23 occupied areas; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4547 IH ‘‘(E) prohibiting flights over tribal parks, 1 ocean recreation, cemeteries, and other areas of 2 tribal interest; and 3 ‘‘(F) requiring commercial air tours to op- 4 erate at lower decibels for purposes of noise re- 5 quirements. 6 ‘‘(2) FAA EXCEPTIONS.—The Administrator of 7 the Federal Aviation Administration may invalidate 8 a regulation imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) if 9 required for flight operations for takeoff and land- 10 ing. 11 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL ENTITY.—In this subsection, the 12 term ‘tribal entity’ means— 13 ‘‘(A) tribal organizations as defined in sec- 14 tions 4(l) of the Indian Self-Determination and 15 Education Assistance Act of 1975 (25 U.S.C. 16 5304); 17 ‘‘(B) tribally designated housing entities as 18 defined in section 4(22) of the Native American 19 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 20 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103(22)); or 21 ‘‘(C) Indian-owned businesses and tribal 22 enterprises as defined in sections 3(5) and 3(8) 23 of the Native American Business Development, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4547 IH Trade Promotion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 1 U.S.C. 4302(5) and (8)).’’; 2 (15) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘over a 3 national park’’ and inserting ‘‘over tribal lands’’; 4 (16) in subsection (g)(2), by striking ‘‘over a 5 national park’’ and inserting ‘‘over tribal lands’’; 6 and 7 (17) by striking subsection (g)(4). 8 SEC. 7. NTSB RECOMMENDATIONS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall imple- 10 ment all recommendations concerning operators under 11 part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, that— 12 (1) were issued by the National Transportation 13 Safety Board; and 14 (2) are considered by the Board to be open un- 15 acceptable response. 16 (b) PART 135 REGULATION.—The Administrator— 17 (1) shall require all commercial air tours to op- 18 erate pursuant to part 135 of title 14, Code of Fed- 19 eral Regulations; and 20 (2) may not permit a commercial air tour to op- 21 erate pursuant to part 91 of title 14, Code of Fed- 22 eral Regulations. 23 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4547 IH (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 2 Aviation Administration. 3 (2) ALTITUDE.—The term ‘‘altitude’’ means 4 the distance above ground level between an aircraft 5 and the highest obstacle that is within 2 miles of the 6 location over which such aircraft is flying at any 7 time. 8 (3) COMMERCIAL AIR TOUR.—The term ‘‘com- 9 mercial air tour’’ means any flight conducted for 10 compensation or hire in a powered aircraft where a 11 purpose of the flight is sightseeing or intentional 12 parachuting. If the operator of a flight asserts that 13 the flight is not a commercial air tour, factors that 14 can be considered by the Administrator in making a 15 determination of whether the flight is a commercial 16 air tour include— 17 (A) whether there was a holding out to the 18 public of willingness to conduct a sightseeing or 19 intentional parachuting flight for compensation 20 or hire; 21 (B) whether a narrative was provided that 22 referred to areas or points of interest on the 23 surface; 24 (C) the area of operation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4547 IH (D) the frequency of flights; 1 (E) the route of flight; 2 (F) the inclusion of sightseeing or inten- 3 tional parachuting flights as part of any travel 4 arrangement package; or 5 (G) whether the flight in question would or 6 would not have been canceled based on poor vis- 7 ibility of the surface. 8 (4) DBA.—The term ‘‘dbA’’ means the A- 9 weighted sound level or unit of measurement de- 10 scribing the total sound level of all noises as meas- 11 ured with a sound level meter using the A weighting 12 network. 13 (5) OCCUPIED AREA.—The term ‘‘occupied 14 area’’ means land area that is used by people, in- 15 cluding residential areas, commercial areas, and rec- 16 reational areas. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Oct 02, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4547.IH H4547 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS