AIR Safety Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5040 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 11, 2020 Received AN ACT To direct the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to study the effects of drone incursions on wildfire sup- pression, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5040.RDS H5040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 5040 RDS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aerial Incursion Re- 2 percussion Safety Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘AIR Safety Act 3 of 2020’’. 4 SEC. 2. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF DRONE INCURSIONS ON 5 WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION. 6 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Director of the Bureau 7 of Land Management, in consultation with the Chief of 8 the Forest Service, the Administrator of the Federal Avia- 9 tion Administration, and the National Association of State 10 Foresters, shall conduct a study on the effects of drone 11 incursions on the suppression of wildfires with respect to 12 lands managed by the Department of the Interior or the 13 Department of Agriculture. 14 (b) STUDY CONTENTS.—In conducting the study re- 15 quired under subsection (a), the Director shall— 16 (1) determine, for each of the five most recently 17 completed calendar years, the number of occurrences 18 in which a drone incursion interfered with wildfire 19 suppression and the effect of each such occurrence 20 on— 21 (A) the length of time required to achieve 22 complete suppression; 23 (B) the effectiveness of aerial firefighting 24 responses; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5040.RDS H5040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 5040 RDS (C) the amounts expended by the Federal 1 Government; and 2 (2) evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of 3 various actions to prevent drone incursions, includ- 4 ing— 5 (A) temporary flight restrictions of the 6 Federal Aviation Administration; and 7 (B) the dissemination of education mate- 8 rials relating to the effects of drone incursions 9 on wildfire suppression. 10 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall sub- 12 mit to the Committee on Natural Resources and the Com- 13 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 14 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 15 Natural Resources and the Committee on Commerce, 16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 17 findings of the study required under subsection (a) and 18 any recommendations of the Director relating to such 19 findings. 20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) DRONE.—The term ‘‘drone’’ means an un- 22 manned aircraft system, as defined in section 44801 23 of title 49, United States Code, owned by a private 24 individual or entity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5040.RDS H5040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 5040 RDS (2) DRONE INCURSION.—The term ‘‘drone in- 1 cursion’’ means the operation of a drone within any 2 airspace for which the Administrator of the Federal 3 Aviation Administration has issued a temporary 4 flight restriction because of a wildfire. 5 (3) WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION.—The term ‘‘wild- 6 fire suppression’’ has the meaning given such term 7 in section 46320(d) of title 49, United States Code. 8 Passed the House of Representatives December 10, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5040.RDS H5040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS