THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT ACT September 25, 1998 Mr. President, I am pleased to rise in support of S. 2279, the Wendell H. Ford National Air Transportation System Improvement Act of 1998. This measure will enhance the safety and efficiency of our air transportation system, upon which the island state of Hawaii is uniquely dependent. I am pleased that this weighty legislation is named for the departing senior senator from Kentucky, whose contributions to aviation are legion. I am especially supportive of Title VII of the bill which addresses the issue of air tour operations at national parks. Mr. President, Title VII of S. 2279 establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for controlling air tour traffic in and near units of the National Park System. The legislation requires the Federal Aviation Administration, in cooperation with the National Park Service and with public input from stakeholders, to develop an air tour management plan (ATMP) for parks currently or potentially affected by air tour flights. Under the ATMP process, routes, altitudes, time restrictions, limitations on the number of flights, and other operating parameters could be prescribed in order to protect sensitive park resources as well as to enhance the safety of air tour operations. An ATMP could prohibit air tours at a park entirely, regulate air tours within half a mile outside the boundaries of a park, regulate air tour operations that impact tribal lands, and offer incentives for the adoption of quieter air technology. An ATMP would include an environmental determination. S. 2279 also creates an advisory group comprising representatives of the FAA, Park Service, the aviation industry, the environmental community, and tribes to provide advice, information, and recommendations on overflight issues. As embodied in the ATMP process, this bill treats overflights issues on a park-by-park basis. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, the legislation establishes a fair and rational mechanism through which environmental and aviation needs can be addressed in the context of the unique circumstances that exist at individual national parks. I am pleased that this procedural approach, in addition to requirements for meaningful public consultation and a mechanism for promoting dialogue among diverse stakeholders, mirrors key elements of legislation--the National Parks Airspace Management Act, cosponsored by my colleagues Senator Inouye and Senator Frist--that I have promoted in the last three Congresses. Mr. President, adoption of this bill is essential if we are to address effectively the detrimental impacts of air tour activities on the National Park System. Air tourism has significantly increased in the last decade, nowhere more so than at high profile units such as Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, and Haleakala and Hawaii Volcanoes national parks in my own state. A 1994 Park Service study indicated that nearly a hundred parks experienced adverse park impacts, and that number has assuredly risen since then. Such growth has inevitably conflicted with the qualities and values of many park units, in some instances seriously. While air tour operators often provide important emergency services, enhance park access for special populations (e.g., the handicapped and elderly), and offer an important source of income for local economies, notably tourism-dependent areas such as Hawaii, unregulated overflights have the potential to harm park ecologies, distress wildlife, and impair visitor enjoyment of the park experience. Unrestricted air tour operations can also pose a safety hazard to air and ground visitors alike. It is therefore vital that we develop a clear, consistent national policy on this issue, one that equitably and rationally prioritizes the respective interests of the aviation and environmental communities. Congress and the Administration have struggled to develop such a policy since enactment of the National Parks Overflights Act of 1987, Congress's initial, but limited attempt to address the overflights issue. S. 2279 will finish where the 1987 Act left off, providing the FAA and Park Service with the policy guidance and procedural mechanisms that are essential to balancing the needs of air tour operators against the imperative to preserve and protect our natural resources. Mr. President, the overflights provisions of this bill are the product of good faith efforts on the part of many groups and individuals. They include: members of the National Parks Overflights Working Group, whose consensus recommendations form the underpinnings of this legislation; representatives of air tour and environmental advocacy organizations such as Helicopter Association International and the National Parks and Conservation Association; and, officials of the FAA and Park Service, notably Park Ranger Wes Henry, the Park Service’s long-serving point man on overflights, who has served as the agency’s institutional memory and conscience on this issue. However, Title VII is above all the product of the energy and vision of Senator John McCain. As the author of the 1987 National Parks Overflights Act, Senator McCain was the first to recognize the adverse impacts of air tours on national parks, and the first to call for a national policy to address this problem. Since then, he has employed his moral authority and legislative acumen impel progress on this subject, For his leadership in writing this bill and for his long advocacy of park overflight issues, Senator McCain deserves our lasting appreciation. Mr. President, I am tremendously honored to have worked closely with Senator McCain over the last year to formulate an overflights bill that promotes aviation safety, enhances the viability of legitimate air tour operations, and protects national parks from the most egregious visual and noise intrusions by air tour helicopters and other aircraft. Left unchecked, air tour activities can undermine the very qualities and resources that give value to a park; these must be protected. I believe that the pending measure reasonably and prudently balances these sometimes opposing considerations, and urge my colleagues to support this legislation. That concludes my remarks, Mr. President. Before closing, however, I would like to recognize the staff of the Commerce Committee--including John Raidt, Mike Reynolds, Charles Chambers, Sam Whitehorn, and Ann Choiniere--for their hard work in putting this legislation together. Ann Choiniere especially deserves mention for her day-to-day management of this issue. I would also like to recognize former members of my own staff, Kerry Taylor, Bob Weir, and Steve Oppermann, who made important contributions to this issue. Steve in particular has served as an expert resource whose tireless, and largely unheralded contributions have shaped the overflights debate in a major way. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.