National Parks Air Tour Management Act
More Flexibility and Better Enforcement Needed Gao ID: GAO-06-263 January 27, 2006Primarily because of concerns that noise from air tours over national parks could impair visitors' experiences and park resources, Congress passed the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 to regulate air tours. The act requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service to develop air tour management plans for all parks where air tour operators apply to conduct tours. A plan may establish controls over tours, such as routes, altitudes, time of day restrictions, and/or a maximum number of flights for a given period; or ban all air tours. GAO was asked to (1) determine the status of FAA and the Park Service's implementation of the act; (2) assess how the air tour operators and national parks have been affected by implementation; and (3) identify what issues, if any, need to be addressed to improve implementation.
FAA and the Park Service have taken some steps to implement the National Parks Air Tour Management Act, but almost 6 years after its passage, the required air tour management plans have not been completed. FAA issued regulations implementing the act and the agencies began developing plans at nine parks. But implementation has been slow, in part, because FAA needed to address airline security after the September 11, 2001, attacks and because the two agencies disagreed over how to comply with environmental laws. Agency officials expect that future plans will be developed more quickly since they have drafted an implementation plan to guide their development. Nevertheless, because no plans have been completed, it is unclear how some of the act's key requirements will be addressed, such as creating incentives for air tour operators to adopt quiet aircraft technology. FAA and the Park Service's slow implementation of the act has limited the ability of air tour operators to make major decisions, such as expanding or selling their businesses, while it has had little effect on the parks. For example, operators have been unable to increase their number of air tours beyond their pre-2000 levels or expand to additional parks. Also, air tour operators face uncertainty about whether they can legally transfer their authority to conduct air tours. In contrast, the implementation of the act has so far had little effect on the 112 national parks we surveyed. Most of the parks responded that they had not experienced any positive or negative effect of the implementation of the act, or that they were uncertain or did not know the extent of the effect. Nonetheless, 47 percent responded that their park could benefit by having a plan to mitigate or prevent potential adverse impacts on park resources, visitor experiences, and air safety. GAO identified four key issues that need to be addressed to improve implementation of the act. Lack of flexibility for determining which parks should develop plans: Not all parks required to develop a plan may need one because they have few air tours or are more affected by other types of flights. Yet, the act does not provide the agencies with any flexibility to exclude some parks. Absence of Park Service funding for its share of plan development costs: The Park Service has not requested nor received funding for its share of the costs of developing plans. Limited ability to verify and enforce the number of air tours: Air tour operators are not required to report the number of tours they conduct. As a result, the agencies are limited in their ability to enforce the act. Based on information provided by operators, GAO found some operators had inappropriately exceeded their number of authorized tours. FAA's inadequate guidance concerning the act's safety requirements: FAA has not instructed its district offices or air tour operators on how to interpret the act's requirement that operators meet a specified level of safety certification.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Team: Phone:GAO-06-263, National Parks Air Tour Management Act: More Flexibility and Better Enforcement Needed
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Report to Congressional Requesters:
January 2006:
National Parks Air Tour Management Act:
More Flexibility and Better Enforcement Needed:
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-263]:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-263, a report to congressional requesters:
Why GAO Did This Study:
Primarily because of concerns that noise from air tours over national
parks could impair visitors‘ experiences and park resources, Congress
passed the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 to regulate
air tours. The act requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
and the National Park Service to develop air tour management plans for
all parks where air tour operators apply to conduct tours. A plan may
establish controls over tours, such as routes, altitudes, time of day
restrictions, and/or a maximum number of flights for a given period; or
ban all air tours.
GAO was asked to (1) determine the status of FAA and the Park Service‘s
implementation of the act; (2) assess how the air tour operators and
national parks have been affected by implementation; and (3) identify
what issues, if any, need to be addressed to improve implementation.
What GAO Found:
FAA and the Park Service have taken some steps to implement the
National Parks Air Tour Management Act, but almost 6 years after its
passage, the required air tour management plans have not been
completed. FAA issued regulations implementing the act and the agencies
began developing plans at nine parks. But implementation has been slow,
in part, because FAA needed to address airline security after the
September 11, 2001, attacks and because the two agencies disagreed over
how to comply with environmental laws. Agency officials expect that
future plans will be developed more quickly since they have drafted an
implementation plan to guide their development. Nevertheless, because
no plans have been completed, it is unclear how some of the act‘s key
requirements will be addressed, such as creating incentives for air
tour operators to adopt quiet aircraft technology.
FAA and the Park Service‘s slow implementation of the act has limited
the ability of air tour operators to make major decisions, such as
expanding or selling their businesses, while it has had little effect
on the parks. For example, operators have been unable to increase their
number of air tours beyond their pre-2000 levels or expand to
additional parks. Also, air tour operators face uncertainty about
whether they can legally transfer their authority to conduct air tours.
In contrast, the implementation of the act has so far had little effect
on the 112 national parks we surveyed. Most of the parks responded that
they had not experienced any positive or negative effect of the
implementation of the act, or that they were uncertain or did not know
the extent of the effect. Nonetheless, 47 percent responded that their
park could benefit by having a plan to mitigate or prevent potential
adverse impacts on park resources, visitor experiences, and air safety.
GAO identified four key issues that need to be addressed to improve
implementation of the act:
* Lack of flexibility for determining which parks should develop plans.
Not all parks required to develop a plan may need one because they have
few air tours or are more affected by other types of flights. Yet, the
act does not provide the agencies with any flexibility to exclude some
parks.
* Absence of Park Service funding for its share of plan development
costs. The Park Service has not requested nor received funding for its
share of the costs of developing plans.
* Limited ability to verify and enforce the number of air tours. Air
tour operators are not required to report the number of tours they
conduct. As a result, the agencies are limited in their ability to
enforce the act. Based on information provided by operators, GAO found
some operators had inappropriately exceeded their number of authorized
tours.
* FAA‘s inadequate guidance concerning the act‘s safety requirements.
FAA has not instructed its district offices or air tour operators on
how to interpret the act‘s requirement that operators meet a specified
level of safety certification.
What GAO Recommends:
To allow more cost-effective implementation, Congress may wish to
consider amending the act to give the agencies authority to determine
which parks should develop plans. GAO also recommends that FAA take
several actions to improve compliance, enforcement, and implementation.
In commenting on the draft report, the Departments of Transportation
and the Interior generally agreed with our recommendations.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-263.
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Robin M. Nazzaro at (202)
512-3841 or nazzaror@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
FAA and the Park Service Have Begun to Implement the Act, but No ATMPs
Have Been Completed:
Act's Implementation Has Limited Air Tour Operators' Ability to Make
Major Business Decisions but Had Little Effect on National Park Units:
Issues Remain to Improve Implementation and Enforcement of the Act:
Conclusions:
Matter for Congressional Consideration:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendixes:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Survey Instrument and Results from 112 National Park
Units:
Appendix III: Applications for Operating Authority by National Park
Unit:
Appendix IV: Applications for Operating Authority by Air Tour Operator:
Appendix V: Air Tours Authorized under Interim Operating Authority by
National Park Unit:
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department of the Interior:
GAO Comments:
Appendix VII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: Park Units Where Existing Operators Have Applied for an
Increase in Air Tours as of November 2005:
Table 2: Park Units Where New Entrants Have Applied for Operating
Authority as of November 2005:
Table 3: Effects of Air Tours on Park Unit Resources Reported by 59
Park Units in July 2005:
Figure:
Figure 1: Factors Affecting FAA and the Park Service's Implementation
of the Act as of November 2005:
Abbreviations:
ATMP(s): air tour management plan(s):
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration:
NEPA: National Environmental Policy Act:
Letter January 27, 2006:
Congressional Requesters:
Primarily because of concern that noise from air tours over our
national park units could impair visitors' experiences and natural,
cultural, and historic resources, the Congress passed the National
Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 (the act) to regulate commercial
air tours (air tours) over units of the national park system.[Footnote
1] To regulate air tours, the act requires the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), in cooperation with the National Park Service
(Park Service), to develop air tour management plans (ATMPs) for
national park units and abutting tribal lands where air tour operators
apply for authority to conduct air tours. The purpose of an ATMP is to
develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent
significant adverse impacts, if any, of air tours on national park
units' natural and cultural resources and visitors' experiences, and on
abutting tribal lands. An ATMP may establish controls over tours,
including flight routes, altitudes, time of day restrictions, and
maximum number of flights for a given time period, or prohibit air
tours altogether.
In October 2002, FAA notified companies that conduct air tours (air
tour operators) of the need to apply for authority to conduct air tours
over national park units.[Footnote 2] Before approving an air tour
operator's application for authority to fly over a park unit (operating
authority), the two agencies must create an ATMP for that park unit.
When an operator that conducted air tours over the park unit before the
act (i.e., an existing operator) applies for operating authority for
that park unit, FAA must grant the existing operator interim operating
authority, which lasts until 180 days after the ATMP is completed. In
accordance with the act, the number of air tours FAA approves under
interim operating authority is based on either an air tour operator's
total number of air tours during the 12-month period before the act was
passed, or the average number of annual air tours conducted in the 36
months before the act was passed, whichever is greater. The act also
contains provisions for granting interim operating authority to
operators who had not conducted air tours over a particular national
park unit before the act (new entrants) and for granting increases in
interim operating authority for existing operators over and above their
pre-act level of activity. Once an ATMP is created for a park unit, an
air tour operator may or may not be granted final operating authority,
depending upon the restrictions the ATMP imposes. In addition, the act
generally requires air tour operators to meet a specified level of
safety certification, if they are not already certified.
As of November 2005, FAA had active applications for operating
authority at 94 of the 388 national park units: applications from 77
existing operators for authority to conduct air tours at a total of 85
park units, and from 16 new entrants at some park units with existing
operators, as well as 9 additional park units.[Footnote 3] FAA and the
Park Service have not completed any ATMPs, and thus FAA has not granted
final operating authority to any operator. In issuing its regulations
codifying the act, FAA stated that all operators seeking to conduct air
tours had to file an application for operating authority and have
interim operating authority before January 23, 2003, almost 3 years
after the act's passage, in order to avoid a break in operations. In
oversight hearings in 2002 and 2004, Congress raised concerns primarily
about the agencies' lengthy implementation process--the agencies had
not completed any ATMPs--and the validity of the air tour data being
used to establish ATMPs.[Footnote 4]
In this context, you asked us to (1) determine the status of FAA and
the Park Service's implementation of the act; (2) assess how the air
tour operators and national park units have been affected by the
implementation of the act; and (3) identify what issues, if any, remain
to be addressed to improve the implementation of the act. You also
asked us to report on compliance regarding payment of fees for air
tours over national park units. We will report on the fee issue
separately because the air tour fee legislation is distinct from the
National Parks Air Tour Management Act, and air tour fees are currently
charged at only three national park units.
To determine the status of implementation, we analyzed FAA and Park
Service policy and guidance documents, reports, data, and applicable
laws and regulations. We also assessed the agencies' budget data, and
FAA's data on both the number of air tours authorized under interim
operating authority and the number of new entrant operators; we
determined that these data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes
of this report. To assess how the air tour operators are affected by
the implementation of the act, we interviewed a sample of 29 air tour
companies that conduct tours at 12 different national park units. This
sample included different sizes of existing air tour operators based on
the number of air tours they conduct annually, as well as all new
entrant operators and existing operators that have requested increases
in operating authority. To assess effects on national park units, we
surveyed (and received responses from) all of the 112 national park
units where applications for operating authority were valid as of July
2005. Since then, two operators withdrew their applications for
operating authority at 15 park units, and FAA withdrew authority for
one operator at 3 park units where there were no other applicants. This
reduced the number of park units needing ATMPs to 94, as of November
2005. See appendix III for a list of the 94 park units. When reporting
survey results, we refer to all 112 park units that were surveyed. Ten
tribal lands within or abutting national park units have also been
identified as needing to be part of the ATMPs developed at the relevant
park units, but our review is limited to the implementation of the act
at national park units. We also interviewed Park Service officials at
12 different national park units selected through nonprobability
sampling.[Footnote 5] We selected these park units because 9 of the 12
were the first park units for which FAA and the Park Service chose to
develop ATMPs, and the other 3 faced circumstances that differed from
the first 9: one had a military flight restriction, one was a potential
candidate for an alternative method for developing an ATMP, and one
believed an ATMP was not needed because it had few air tours. To
identify issues that remain to be addressed to improve the
implementation of the act, we analyzed the agencies' policies,
guidance, reports, and applicable regulations and laws. We also
interviewed FAA and Park Service officials at headquarters and at field
offices. A more detailed description of our scope and methodology is
presented in appendix I, and the survey instrument and aggregate
results are presented in appendix II. We performed our work from
January 2005 through January 2006 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
While FAA and the Park Service have taken some important steps to
implement the provisions of the National Parks Air Tour Management Act
of 2000, implementation has been slow and some key requirements of the
act have yet to be addressed. Specifically, as the act requires, in
April 2001, the agencies established the National Parks Overflights
Advisory Group to advise them on the act's implementation. In October
2002, FAA issued a final rule that completed the definition of an air
tour and informed air tour operators that they must apply for operating
authority over national park units. Finally, in January 2003, FAA and
the Park Service began developing ATMPs for nine park units. Officials
at both agencies told us that implementation was initially slow because
FAA needed to address airline security after the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks and because the agencies disagreed over the
procedures necessary to implement the act in compliance with
environmental laws, such as determining what constitutes a significant
impact on park resources. Agency officials expect to establish ATMPs
more quickly in the future because they now have a draft implementation
plan that will guide their creation. According to the agencies' current
plans, it could take 5 more years to complete the development of ATMPs
for all the 94 national park units with active applications from air
tour operators. Furthermore, some key requirements of the act have not
been fully implemented. Specifically, the act requires that FAA and the
Park Service include in ATMPs (1) a competitive bidding process for
awarding final operating authority if an ATMP limits the number of air
tours over a national park unit and (2) incentives for air tour
operators to adopt technologies that make aircraft quieter. The
agencies expect to address these requirements on a park-unit-by-unit
basis as each ATMP is developed.
FAA and the Park Service's slow implementation of the act has limited
the ability of air tour operators to make major decisions such as
expanding or selling their businesses, while implementation has had
little effect on the 112 national park units we surveyed in July 2005.
Specifically, existing operators cannot expand their air tour
businesses over national park units, and new entrants cannot enter the
business, because FAA, in cooperation with the Park Service, has
granted neither increases in interim operating authority to existing
operators nor interim operating authority to any new entrants. The
agencies have not agreed on whether or how they will grant any
increases to existing operators, or operating authority to new
entrants, before the appropriate ATMPs have been completed.
Furthermore, air tour operators face uncertainty about whether they can
legally transfer their authority to conduct air tours--which they
believe should be valued in the marketplace--and are therefore having
difficulty making decisions, such as whether to sell their businesses.
In addition, the act requires operators to obtain a specified level of
certification that has more stringent safety standards than some
operators had previously met, and which takes an investment of
resources to obtain. Otherwise, as an exception to this safety
requirement, the act limits the number of air tours conducted by
operators that do not meet this level of certification to a total of
five tours per park unit per month with the agencies' approval. In
contrast to these effects on air tour operators, the implementation of
the act has had little effect on the 112 national park units we
surveyed. Most park units responded to the survey that they had not
experienced any positive or negative effect from the act's
implementation, or they were uncertain or did not know the extent of
the effect. In written comments in the survey, 14 park units attributed
this lack of effect to their unit not having air tours. Only 15 percent
reported a positive effect to some extent, while 13 percent reported a
negative effect to some extent. However, 47 percent of the 112 park
units also responded that they need an ATMP to mitigate or prevent
potential adverse impacts on park unit resources, visitor experiences,
and air safety. The agencies plan to first develop ATMPs at park units
on the basis of the presence of new entrants, higher levels of air tour
activity, and other factors.
We identified four key issues to be addressed by the Congress and the
agencies to improve implementation of the act. Specifically:
* Lack of flexibility for determining which park units should develop
ATMPs. The act requires that an ATMP be developed for any park unit for
which an application for operating authority is filed, regardless of
the requested number of air tours or their impact on the park unit. The
number of air tours authorized at each park unit under interim
operating authority ranges from more than 35,000 air tours per year to
5 air tours per year. In addition, when asked in our survey to identify
the one or two types of overflights that had the most negative effect
on their park unit, more park units reported general aviation (56 park
units) and military (44 park units) overflights than air tours (33 park
units). More than half of the 112 park units responded either that they
did not need an ATMP or that they were unsure, despite the act's
current requirement. In our discussions with both agencies and air tour
operators, we found that voluntary agreements at some park units had
successfully established air tour routes and elevation levels to
minimize impacts from air tours. These voluntary agreements, some of
which were adopted prior to the act, are good management practices that
could be replicated at other park units. However, the act does not
provide the agencies with any flexibility to exclude some park units
from the requirement. The agencies have raised questions about whether
it is cost-effective to develop an ATMP for some park units--the first
nine plans average an estimated $405,000 each, implying a potential $38
million cost for 94 ATMPs in current dollars. To save time and money in
developing future plans, the agencies are considering alternatives to
the ATMP approach used at the first nine park units, such as an
expedited process at park units where there is little air tour activity
or public controversy. The Congress may also wish to consider amending
the act to give the agencies authority to determine which park units
should develop ATMPs.
* Absence of Park Service funding for its share of ATMP development
costs. The Park Service, in an interagency memorandum of understanding
with FAA, agreed to fund 40 percent of the cost of developing ATMPs.
However, the Park Service had not requested or received any dedicated
funding for the ATMP program until fiscal year 2006, although it had
contributed staff time. In contrast, by the end of fiscal year 2005,
FAA had contributed $29 million for the ATMP program--$27 million to a
contractor to record and analyze sounds in park units and other
activities, and the remaining $2 million for staff salaries, travel
expenses, equipment and supplies, and in-house contractors. At that
level, FAA has already received about 67 percent of the total estimated
ATMP cost for the 94 park units. If the Park Service does not meet its
obligation within the next 2 years, officials from both agencies said
implementation may be hindered.
* Limited ability to verify and enforce the number of air tours. The
agencies lack a mechanism to verify the number of air tours conducted
before or since the act because FAA and existing laws and regulations
do not require operators to record and report the number of air tours
they conduct over national park units. Without these data, FAA and the
Park Service cannot determine whether operators actually conducted the
number of air tours prior to the act that they reported in their
applications for operating authority, nor whether operators are
violating their interim operating authority. As a result, the agencies
are limited in their ability to enforce the act. We determined that 3
of the 25 existing operators we interviewed were exceeding the number
of air tours they were authorized to conduct under interim operating
authority, flying over park units for which they did not have
authority, or both. For example, one air tour operator told us it was
exceeding its interim operating authority by more than 3,000 tours per
year over a major national park unit.
* FAA's inadequate guidance concerning the act's safety requirements.
FAA has not clearly communicated to its district offices or air tour
operators how to interpret the act's requirement for operators to
obtain a specified level of safety certification. The act allows an
exception for operators not meeting this requirement to be restricted
to a combined total of five air tours per park unit per month if they
get approval from both agencies. However, we found three operators had
neither applied for the increased safety certification nor met the
conditions of the exception. Officials in FAA's district offices either
were not aware of these circumstances or believed the operators were in
compliance with the act. However, FAA headquarters officials disagreed,
indicating these operators were in violation.
To allow more cost-effective implementation of the National Parks Air
Tour Management Act, Congress may wish to consider amending the act to
authorize FAA and the Park Service to determine which park units should
develop ATMPs. In addition, we recommend that FAA take a number of
actions to improve compliance, enforcement, and implementation of the
act. In commenting on a draft of this report, the Department of
Transportation agreed with our findings and agreed to consider our
recommendations as they move forward with the program. The Department
of the Interior (Interior), which oversees the Park Service, generally
agreed with our findings and recommendations, but it questioned whether
Congress needs to amend the act to give the agencies greater
flexibility. However, Interior stated that it "— would agree to a
general grant of authority which would provide the agencies discretion
to make such determinations based on agency developed criteria that
goes beyond simply the level of air tour activity." See the "agency
comments and our evaluation" section and appendix VI for Interior's
comment letter and our evaluation of these comments.
Background:
Primarily out of concern that noise from air tours over national park
units could impair visitors' experiences and park unit resources, the
Congress passed the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000 to
regulate air tours conducted over national park units. The act mandates
new responsibilities for FAA and the Park Service, including developing
ATMPs for all national park units where air tour operators apply for
authority to conduct air tours.[Footnote 6] The purpose of an ATMP is
to develop acceptable and effective measures to mitigate or prevent the
significant adverse impacts, if any, from air tours on the natural and
cultural resources and visitor experiences at national park units, and
on abutting tribal lands. To implement the act, FAA and the Park
Service must, among other things:
* establish an advisory group to provide continuing advice and counsel
on air tours over and near national park units;
* establish an ATMP at any national park unit whenever an air tour
operator applies for authority to conduct an air tour over the park
unit;
* grant interim operating authority to existing air tour operators to
provide annual authorizations to operators until 180 days after an ATMP
is developed at the relevant park unit;
* develop an open, competitive process for air tour operators
interested in providing air tours over a park unit whenever an ATMP
limits the number of air tours during a specified time frame;
* include incentives in an ATMP for air tour operators to adopt
technology that makes aircraft quieter for tours over park units; and:
* submit a report to Congress by April 5, 2002, on the effectiveness of
the act in providing incentives for the development and use of quiet
aircraft technology.
The act requires FAA and the Park Service to prepare each ATMP in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
NEPA requires each federal agency to prepare an environmental impact
statement to assess proposed actions that will have a significant
impact on the environment. If the agency is unsure whether the proposed
action will have a significant impact, it prepares a briefer document
called an environmental assessment. If the assessment concludes the
action will have a significant impact, the agency must then prepare an
environmental impact statement--otherwise it issues a "finding of no
significant impact." The act requires both FAA and the Park Service to
approve the NEPA decision document associated with each ATMP; agency
officials believe they will need to prepare an environmental assessment
for most ATMPs.
The act defines an "air tour" as any flight conducted for compensation
or hire in an aircraft where a purpose of the flight is sightseeing
over a national park unit or within one-half mile outside the boundary
of any national park unit--the agencies further defined air tours to
include only flights below 5,000 feet above ground level. The act
defines two types of air tour operators: existing and new entrant
operators. Existing operators are those that were providing air tours
over a national park unit at any time during the 12-month period ending
April 5, 2000. A new entrant is an air tour operator that applies for
operating authority but did not provide air tours over a national park
unit during the same 12-month period. Before an ATMP is developed for a
park unit, the act instructs FAA to grant interim operating authority
to any existing air tour operator that applies for operating authority,
which lasts until 180 days after an ATMP is developed. Interim
operating authority provides existing air tour operators with an annual
number of tours that can be conducted over a park unit. The number of
tours authorized is equal to the number of air tours conducted by the
operator during the 12-month period prior to the act's passage on April
5, 2000, or the average number of air tours per 12-month period
conducted by the operator for the 36 months before the act--whichever
is greater. The act allows FAA and the Park Service to grant increases
in interim operating authority to existing operators, and to grant
interim operating authority to new entrant operators, under certain
circumstances, but the agencies have chosen not to do so.
For safety reasons, the act requires certain air tour operators--known
as Part 91 operators because they operate under safety rules in Part 91
of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations--to apply for the more
stringent operational and safety rules outlined in Part 135. Some of
the more stringent safety rules under Part 135 include passing an
annual flight check, passing an instrument proficiency check every 6
months, maintaining copies of the aircraft's maintenance log, and
flying no more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period. The act's ATMP and
safety certification requirements do not apply to Part 91 operators
that obtain a letter of agreement from FAA and the relevant park unit's
superintendent describing the conditions under which their air tours
will be conducted. The act limits air tours by Part 91 operators under
this provision to no more than five air tours per park unit (not per
operator) in any 30-day period.
To implement the act, FAA directed its Western Pacific Region to work
with the Park Service's Natural Sounds Program. FAA's mission is to
provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world, which
now includes managing air tours over national park units. It is
pursuing its mission with an annual budget of over $14 billion for
fiscal year 2005, approximately $8 million of which was budgeted for
air tour management; FAA has provided a total of about $29 million for
implementing the act for fiscal years 2001 through 2005. The Volpe
Center, a fee-for-service organization in the Department of
Transportation, performs work primarily for the department, as well as
other entities, and covers such issues as safety, mobility, security,
and noise pollution. FAA contracted with the Volpe Center to perform,
among other things, sound monitoring, environmental analyses, and
economic analysis in support of creating ATMPs; FAA has allocated $27
million of its $29 million in funding to the Volpe Center for these
activities.
The National Park Service is responsible for conserving the scenery,
the natural and historic objects, and the wildlife in national park
units, and for providing for the enjoyment of national park units in
ways that leave them unimpaired for future generations. To accomplish
its mission, the Park Service received a budget from Congress of about
$1.7 billion for fiscal year 2006, $1.4 million of which is allocated
to the Natural Sounds Program, according to a program official. The
Park Service established the Soundscapes Program Center in 2000 (now
the Natural Sounds Program) primarily to work with FAA's Western
Pacific Region Manager to develop ATMPs, though the Natural Sounds
Program's mission is not limited to creating ATMPs. The Natural Sounds
Program works to protect, maintain, or restore natural sounds in the
national park units by working in partnership with park units to
increase scientific and public understanding of the value and character
of sounds that are appropriate for a park unit and to eliminate or
minimize noise intrusions. The program provides technical assistance to
park units in managing sounds and assessing impacts from noise, and
performing outreach and education on sounds.
FAA and the Park Service Have Begun to Implement the Act, but No ATMPs
Have Been Completed:
FAA and the Park Service have taken steps to implement the act, but
implementation has been slow and some of the act's key requirements
have not been addressed. Implementation of the act has been slow, in
part, due to disagreements between FAA and the Park Service over the
procedures necessary to implement the act in compliance with NEPA.
While agency officials expect to develop ATMPs more quickly in the
future now that they have drafted an implementation plan, they
acknowledge that issues must still be addressed before the first ATMP
is completed.
FAA and the Park Service Have Taken Actions to Implement the Act and
Resolved Some Differences That Slowed ATMP Development:
FAA and the Park Service have taken several actions to implement the
act and addressed some of its requirements. Specifically:
* As the act requires, the agencies established the National Parks
Overflights Advisory Group (advisory group) in April 2001 to provide,
among other things, continuing advice and counsel about air tours over
and near national park units. The advisory group is composed of a
balanced group of representatives of general aviation, air tour
operators, environmental concerns, and Indian tribes. Since 2001, the
advisory group has met periodically to discuss issues related to
implementation, such as interim operating authority, increases in
operating authority, and noise monitoring in the park units.
* In October 2002, FAA issued a final rule that completed the
definition of an air tour and informed air tour operators that they
must file an application for operating authority over national park
units by January 23, 2003, in order to avoid a break in conducting such
tours.[Footnote 7] Operators that conducted tours prior to April 5,
2000, may still apply for operating authority and may be granted
interim operating authority. Owing in part to some confusion over
application requirements on the part of air tour operators, in January
2005 FAA notified air tour operators that they could self-correct the
information they provided in their applications for operating
authority.[Footnote 8] In June 2005, FAA published in the Federal
Register for public comment the list of air tour operators and the
number of annual air tours each operator received under interim:
operating authority; the comment period closed October 31,
2005.[Footnote 9]
* To meet the act's requirement for developing ATMPs, the agencies
began developing plans in January 2003 for nine national park units--
reduced to six in July 2005--for which air tour operators had applied
for operating authority, with the goal of completing ATMPs at all park
units by approximately 2010.[Footnote 10]
Despite the progress made, officials at both agencies said that
implementation has been slow because of (1) other priorities that took
precedence over ATMP development and (2) disagreements between FAA and
the Park Service over how to implement NEPA in assessing the impact of
noise on park units. According to FAA officials, the agency temporarily
suspended work on many rulemaking projects, including air tour
management, and refocused its resources to address air passenger safety
and security in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11,
2001. In addition, FAA and Park Service officials said the agencies'
differing missions and environmental policies have delayed some actions
to implement the act. For example, FAA and the Park Service have some
procedural differences over how to implement NEPA in assessing noise
impacts on park units, including the appropriate noise model to use and
the noise metrics that are applicable. While NEPA requires the
preparation of an environmental impact statement for actions having
significant environmental impacts, the agencies could not agree on the
criteria to use in determining when noise from aircraft would have a
significant impact on the environment and park unit resources. To
resolve their differences, the agencies developed new methodologies to
assess the potential adverse impacts of air tour noise on park unit
resources and visitors' experiences and agreed to a combination of FAA
and Park Service guidance and practices to implement NEPA. Agency
officials explained that the slow implementation was also due in part
to the unexpected complexities of meeting some of the act's
requirements. Thus, it took time to resolve these and other issues
between the agencies. For example, FAA and the Park Service developed
new procedures to calculate emissions for aircraft that conduct air
tours.
FAA and the Park Service have taken steps to mitigate their
disagreements and increase the efficiency of ATMP development. To
establish a framework for cooperation and participation in
implementation, the agencies signed a memorandum of understanding that
addresses, among other things, the scope of work, financial terms, the
process for developing and approving ATMPs, and outlines a dispute
resolution process. Officials are to resolve their disagreements at the
program level and elevate them to higher levels if they cannot resolve
them. At the time of this report, the agencies had elevated one
disagreement and were still working to resolve their differences over
the language used in the environmental compliance documents that
describes the purpose and need for an ATMP at a park unit. The lack of
resolution on this issue could cause further delays, according to
agency officials. Furthermore, the agencies drafted an implementation
plan in September 2005 that will guide them through the process of
developing ATMPs for the remaining park units that need them.[Footnote
11] The draft implementation plan establishes criteria for determining
the order in which park units will develop ATMPs, the roles and
responsibilities of FAA and the Park Service in developing ATMPs, how
to develop ATMPs and the supporting environmental compliance documents,
how ATMPs will be implemented and enforced once completed, and how the
plans can be changed. As a result, agency officials expect the
implementation plan, once finished, to help them develop ATMPs at the
remaining park units in less time than it is taking to develop ATMPs
for the first set of park units. However, according to FAA officials,
it may take 5 more years before all of the 94 national park units begin
developing ATMPs. Figure 1 summarizes the steps taken to implement the
act, as of November 2005.
Figure 1: Factors Affecting FAA and the Park Service's Implementation
of the Act as of November 2005:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Key Implementation Issues Have Yet to Be Addressed:
Despite the progress made, some of the act's key requirements have not
been fully implemented. First, at the time of our review, it was
unclear whether any of the six park units currently developing ATMPs
will limit the number of air tours authorized, and if so, how
competitive bidding will be handled. As agency officials acknowledge,
they will eventually need to address this issue in the implementation
plan and in ATMPs. Second, the agencies have not identified incentives
for air tour operators to adopt technology that make aircraft quieter,
such as enclosed tail rotors on helicopters. In general, air tour
operators and FAA officials said that incentives are needed because of
the high cost of retrofitting old aircraft with quiet technology or
purchasing new aircraft already equipped with quiet technology.
However, according to FAA officials, before incentives can be provided
in an ATMP, noise studies must be conducted to determine what impact,
if any, quiet technologies would have on park unit resources.[Footnote
12] Although the draft implementation plan broadly addresses quiet
technology incentives, it acknowledges that such incentives are yet to
be devised for the first ATMPs underway. FAA and Park Service officials
said they expect to develop a competitive bidding process and quiet
technology incentives on a park-unit-by-unit basis and will address
these issues before the first ATMP is drafted in fiscal year 2007.
Act's Implementation Has Limited Air Tour Operators' Ability to Make
Major Business Decisions but Had Little Effect on National Park Units:
FAA and the Park Service's implementation of the act has limited the
ability of air tour operators to make major decisions, such as
expanding or selling their businesses. FAA, in cooperation with the
Park Service, has not granted increases in interim operating authority
to existing operators, nor interim operating authority to new entrants.
Furthermore, air tour operators face uncertainty about whether they can
legally transfer their authority to conduct air tours. As a result of
the slow implementation of the act and the current time frame for
developing ATMPs, these adverse effects on operators have been
prolonged. In addition, as a safety requirement of the act, Part 91
operators must apply for more stringent safety certification from FAA
in order to initiate or continue conducting air tours. In contrast to
these effects on operators, the implementation of the act has so far
had little effect on the 112 national park units we surveyed in July
2005. Specifically, more than half of the park units reported that the
act's implementation had no positive or negative effect on their park
unit, and about 30 percent were uncertain or did not know.
Air Tour Operators' Ability to Make Major Business Decisions Has Been
Limited by the Implementation Process:
FAA and the Park Service's implementation of the act has limited the
ability of air tour operators to make major business decisions because
FAA, in cooperation with the Park Service, has not granted (1)
increases in interim operating authority to existing operators who
applied for such increases or (2) interim operating authority to new
entrants. Furthermore, air tour operators face uncertainty about
whether they can legally transfer their authority to conduct air tours-
-which they believe should be valued in the marketplace--both during
the interim operating period and once an ATMP is established. In
addition to these uncertainties, in order to maintain the level of air
tour activity they held prior to the act, Part 91 operators have
generally decided to invest resources for their operations to meet the
more stringent level of safety certification required by the act.
Agencies' Slow Implementation Has Limited Air Tour Operators'
Expansion:
According to FAA data, four existing operators have applied to FAA for
a total increase of 7,860 air tours during interim operating authority
at two park units (see table 1). Although the act allows FAA, in
cooperation with the Park Service, to grant increases if certain
conditions are met, the agencies have not done so. As a result,
existing operators have not been able to expand their air tour
businesses over national park units. For example, one air tour operator
told us it had expanded its air tour business over Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park at an average annual rate of 22 percent in the 4 years
before it applied for operating authority in 2003. FAA granted the
operator interim operating authority based on its activity during the
year prior to the act, and the operator then requested an increase in
the annual number of tours authorized. Since no increases have been
granted, the operator has had to reduce the number of tours in order to
remain compliant with the act.
Table 1: Park Units Where Existing Operators Have Applied for an
Increase in Air Tours as of November 2005:
Park unit: Glacier National Park;
Number of existing operators requesting an increase: 2;
Number of additional air tours requested: 64.
Park unit: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park;
Number of existing operators requesting an increase: 2;
Number of additional air tours requested: 7,796.
Source: FAA.
[End of table]
Existing operators have faced uncertainty about their potential to
expand their air tour businesses for a longer period of time than
expected: nearly 6 years after the act's passage, no ATMPs have been
completed, and the process for developing the vast majority of plans
has not even begun. FAA officials told us they would like to grant
increases in interim operating authority, and Park Service officials
told us they would consider such increases in order to minimize the
negative effects of the act's slow implementation on air tour
operators. The act allows increases in interim operating authority only
if it is agreed to by both agencies, and promotes safe air tour
operations and the protection of national park unit resources. Park
Service officials said that because such increases could have
significant environmental impacts, the agencies would either have to
prepare an environmental assessment or collect additional data on where
operators propose conducting more tours--such as flight paths,
frequency of tours, and times of day--to evaluate those impacts prior
to approving the requested increase in air tours. The two agencies have
not reached an agreement on how they will handle increases during
interim operating authority; due to the time and cost involved with an
assessment, the agencies may not be able to determine whether increases
can be granted until the assessment associated with the relevant park's
ATMP is developed.
The agencies also have not issued interim operating authority to 16 new
entrants that have applied for authority to conduct tours over a
combined 46 national park units (see table 2). As a result, 10
operators have not been able to begin flying tours over any national
park units, and 6 existing operators have not been able to expand their
businesses to include additional park units. Among the former, for
example, are two new entrant companies in Hawaii that told us they had
refrained from flying within a half-mile of park units, despite
customer demand and their own desire to grow their businesses. These
two new entrants also said they were still waiting for official
responses from FAA about the applications they filed in January 2003.
The longer it takes to fully implement the act in developing ATMPs, the
longer these and other new entrants may be impaired.
Table 2: Park Units Where New Entrants Have Applied for Operating
Authority as of November 2005:
Park unit: Arches National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 3;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 104.
Park unit: Aztec Ruins National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Bryce Canyon National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 6;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 956.
Park unit: Canyon de Chelly National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 840.
Park unit: Canyonlands National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 4;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 104.
Park unit: Capitol Reef National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Cedar Breaks National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 4;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 104.
Park unit: City of Rocks National Reserve;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Colorado National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Crater Lake National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Death Valley National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 3;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 6.
Park unit: Devils Postpile National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Dinosaur National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Fort Laramie National Historic Site;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 4;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 944.
Park unit: Golden Spike National Historic Site;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Grand Teton National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Great Basin National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Haleakala National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 4,140.
Park unit: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 600.
Park unit: Hovenweep National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Joshua Tree National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Lake Mead National Recreation Area;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 4;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 1,740.
Park unit: Mesa Verde National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Mount Rainier National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Natural Bridges National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Navajo National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 3;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: North Cascades National Park (includes Lake Chelan National
Recreation Area);
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Olympic National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 48.
Park unit: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Petrified Forest National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Pipe Spring National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 3;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Rainbow Bridge National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 104.
Park unit: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 16.
Park unit: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Timpanogos Cave National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Walnut Canyon National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Wright Brothers National Memorial;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 1;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Wupatki National Monument;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Yellowstone National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 3;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 8.
Park unit: Yosemite National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 2;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: unknown.
Park unit: Zion National Park;
Number of new entrants that have applied for operating authority: 6;
Number of annual air tours requested[A]: 959.
Source: FAA.
[A] Many of the new entrant operators did not request a specific number
of air tours in their applications for operating authority, resulting
in "unknown" for some of the park units listed in this table.
[End of table]
The act gives FAA, in cooperation with the Park Service, the authority
to grant interim operating authority to new entrants if certain
conditions are met: (1) FAA determines the authority is necessary to
ensure competition, (2) the authority would not create a safety or
noise problem, and (3) the ATMP has not been developed within 2 years
of the act's passage. Although the third condition has been met in all
cases, and the first condition might be met in some cases, Park Service
officials told us they interpret the clause regarding noise as
triggering the same environmental analysis that is needed for an ATMP-
-unless new entrants provide more data about when and where they
propose flying. Because the agencies have not reached an agreement on
how they will handle new entrants during interim operating authority,
they may not be able to determine whether new entrants can be
accommodated until they develop the relevant ATMPs. In the meantime,
new entrants--like existing operators seeking increases in interim
authority--are not able to make important decisions regarding their air
tour businesses.
Operators Are Uncertain About Transferability of Air Tour Allocations:
Air tour operators are uncertain about whether they can legally
transfer their flight allocations under the act, both during the period
of interim operating authority and once an ATMP is completed, because
FAA has not adequately communicated its opinion on this subject to
operators and its field offices. As a result, operators have not been
able to make major business decisions such as retiring or selling their
businesses--or have made inappropriate decisions to transfer, sell, or
buy air tour allocations. FAA's opinion is that operating authority is
not a property right or interest. However, as both FAA and aviation
members of the advisory group stated at their June 2005 meeting,
operators believe they should be able to transfer their air tour
allocations if, for instance, an operator wants to go out of business.
Now that air tours over national park units are regulated, they said,
an existing operator's value lies in its pre-2000 level of activity, as
well as in its pilots and personnel, equipment, reputation, and other
business assets. If an operator is not able to transfer its air tour
allocations, advisory group members said there might not be any
business to sell.
FAA officials told us that operators' uncertainty about their ability
to transfer their air tour allocations stems from the fact that the
act, regulations, and formal FAA guidance to its flight standards
district offices and air tour operators have not addressed this
subject. The air tour community is aware that while regulations for air
tours over Grand Canyon National Park specify that operators have no
property interest in air tour allocations, the regulations nevertheless
allow such transfers subject to FAA control. And in practice, operators
have successfully bought and sold allocations for that park unit with
FAA's knowledge. In addition, air tour operators have learned that some
operators have successfully transferred or sold air tour allocations to
other operators for other park units, causing further confusion about
their permissibility. For example, we found one air tour operator had
paid another operator in January 2003 for 10,911 air tours the latter
conducted over 11 national park units prior to the act, including 7
park units over which the purchasing operator had not previously flown.
Subsequently, the purchasing operator included all but three of these
tours in its application for operating authority, with the FAA district
office's knowledge. FAA granted the operator interim operating
authority to conduct a number of tours based on its own historical
activity, plus the tours purchased from the other operator.
FAA senior officials and attorneys told us that transfers of air tour
allocations, whether during the interim period or once an ATMP is
established, are generally not allowed but should be handled on a case-
by-case basis. In a letter to one air tour operator in January 2003,
FAA described the limited circumstances under which an operator could
obtain the existing operator status of another operator for the
purposes of applying for operating authority. Specifically, FAA said
both the operator and the purchased entity would have to be
corporations, and the purchased corporation would have to continue to
exist as its own legal entity, in order for the new owner to obtain the
existing operator status. However, this letter did not address the
broader issue of transferring air tour allocations once interim or
final operating authority is granted. FAA headquarters officials told
us they had not widely communicated this letter or the agency's broader
position to its district offices or to air tour operators because the
confusion had not been brought to their attention until our review. As
a result of this lack of communication, the district offices have
addressed this issue inconsistently, and there may be deviations from
headquarters' position. For example, one operator in South Dakota
acquired an existing air tour operator in 2001 and applied for
operating authority, considering its predecessor's history of air tour
activity to be an acquired asset. The FAA district office and
headquarters officials initially considered this operator to be a new
entrant and denied it interim operating authority, causing it to pursue
alternative sources of income for 2-1/2 years. Then, in mid-2005, FAA
headquarters investigated the case and granted the purchasing operator
interim operating authority because it had met the agency's
requirements for obtaining existing operator status. But in the example
mentioned earlier in which one air tour operator paid another operator
for 10,911 air tours, another district office was aware of the transfer
before it issued operating authority. Finally, under the jurisdiction
of a third district office, we found one operator with two companies
has allowed one of his companies to use the other company's air tour
allocations over several park units--effectively making an
inappropriate transfer, according to FAA's position.
Operators Have Generally Opted to Invest Resources to Meet Higher
Standards and Avoid the Five-Tour Limit:
FAA officials told us that in order to continue their historic levels
of air tour activity and income, Part 91 operators have to meet the
higher standards of Part 135 regulations. According to FAA data, 68 of
the 77 existing operators have been allowed to maintain their pre-2000
level of air tour activity over national park units because they were
already certified under Part 135 regulations. Eight of the remaining
nine operators that were Part 91 operators have applied for Part 135
certification, and one operator chose to remain a Part 91 operator.
These eight operators have to invest resources in additional pilot
training and check rides, aircraft inspections, safety manuals, record-
keeping, and other activities to meet the Part 135 safety requirements
that go beyond those required under Part 91 regulations.[Footnote 13]
Although the amount of investment required to meet Part 135 standards
varies from one operator to another, FAA officials told us the initial
cost can vary from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.
Alternatively, if Part 91 operators had decided not to apply for the
Part 135 standards required by the act, and they had a high level of
air tours prior to 2000, their loss of air tour business could have
been significant. For example, one air tour operator applied for
operating authority under Part 135 and reported that it had conducted
5,200 tours over Mount Rushmore National Memorial strictly under Part
91 regulations in the year before the act. FAA then issued interim
operating authority to this operator for 5,200 tours annually over that
park unit because the operator applied for Part 135
certification.[Footnote 14] But if this operator had not applied for
authority under Part 135, it would have been restricted to five or
fewer tours per month over that park unit--if it had acquired a letter
of agreement signed by both agencies. At the time of our review, FAA
data showed that only one Part 91 operator had not applied for Part 135
certification and had received a letter of agreement from FAA for up to
five flights per month at one park unit. However, Park Service
officials said this operator had not obtained a letter of agreement
from the Park Service.
Act's Implementation Has Had Little Effect on National Park Units:
A majority of the 112 park units we surveyed in July 2005, as well as
Park Service officials we spoke with, reported that FAA and the Park
Service's implementation of the act has had neither a positive or
negative effect on the park units, yet many still want an
ATMP.[Footnote 15] Specifically, 62 (55 percent) of the park units
reported that the act's implementation had no positive effect on their
park unit, and 64 (57 percent) reported no negative effect, while only
17 (15 percent) reported a positive effect to some extent and 14 (13
percent) reported a negative effect to some extent. Another 33 (29
percent) and 34 (30 percent) park units responded that they were
uncertain or did not know the effect, positive or negative,
respectively. In written comments in the survey, 14 of the 112 park
units attributed this lack of effect to their unit not having air
tours.[Footnote 16]
The act's implementation may result in positive, negative, or no
effects on park units because the level of air tour activity has been
held constant over park units under interim operating authority. For
those park units wanting to reduce air tours, interim operating
authority has preserved a level of activity that those park units
already consider too high. On the other hand, for those park units
where a low level of air tour activity currently exists (as defined by
those park units), freezing the level of air tours under interim
operating authority has prevented the growth of air tours. Finally,
some park unit officials told us there has been no effect and that the
status quo is acceptable.
Regarding the act's requirement that FAA and the Park service establish
ATMPs at all park units where applications for operating authority are
made, 53 (47 percent) park units responded in the survey that they need
an ATMP to mitigate or prevent potential adverse impacts on park unit
resources, visitor experiences, and air safety. Fifty-nine (53 percent)
of the park units stated that they had air tours over their park units
and identified how air tours are affecting park unit resources. For
example, as shown in table 3, 23 (39 percent) of the 59 park units
reported a negative effect on visitors' experiences, and 3 (5 percent)
reported a positive effect.[Footnote 17] Because the agencies plan to
first develop ATMPs at park units on the basis of the presence of new
entrants, higher levels of air tour activity, and other priorities,
some park units are not likely to have a complete ATMP until:
2012.[Footnote 18] Some park units we visited told us this delay does
no harm because they are not substantially affected by air tours, and
they are therefore satisfied with the act's limited implementation and
the time frame for developing ATMPs.
Table 3: Effects of Air Tours on Park Unit Resources Reported by 59
Park Units in July 2005:
Park resource: Visitors' experience;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Positive: 3;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Negative: 23;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Both: 15;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: None: 5;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Uncertain/Don't know: 13;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: No response: 0.
Park resource: Cultural/Historical resources;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Positive: 2;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Negative: 15;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Both: 0;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: None: 16;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Uncertain/Don't know: 25;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: No response: 1.
Park resource: Natural resources/Wildlife;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Positive: 1;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Negative: 23;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Both: 1;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: None: 9;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Uncertain/Don't know: 24;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: No response: 1.
Park resource: Number of visitors to the park unit;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Positive: 3;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Negative: 3;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Both: 1;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: None: 23;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Uncertain/Don't know: 27;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: No response: 2.
Park resource: Other resources;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Positive: 1;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Negative: 4;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Both: 1;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: None: 0;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: Uncertain/Don't know: 4;
Number of park units reporting effects of air tours on park unit
resources: No response: 49.
Source: GAO survey results for the 59 park units that responded there
were air tours over their park unit.
[End of table]
Issues Remain to Improve Implementation and Enforcement of the Act:
We identified four key issues to be addressed by the Congress and the
agencies to improve implementation of the act: (1) a lack of
flexibility for determining which park units should develop ATMPs, (2)
an absence of Park Service funding for its share of ATMP development
costs, (3) limited ability to verify and enforce the number of air
tours, and (4) FAA's inadequate guidance concerning the act's safety
requirements.
Lack of Flexibility for Determining Which Park Units Should Develop
ATMPs:
The act requires an ATMP to be developed for any park unit where an
application for operating authority is made, regardless of the size of
the park unit, the number of air tours or operators at a park unit, or
their impact. Thus FAA and the Park Service are not authorized to
exclude any park units from the ATMP process. The number of air tours
authorized at park units under interim operating authority ranges from
more than 35,000 to 5 air tours per year.[Footnote 19] Of the 94 park
units currently expected to develop ATMPs, 49 park units (52 percent)
have 61 or more authorized air tours per year under interim operating
authority. Of the remainder, 36 park units (38 percent) have 60 or
fewer authorized air tours per year, and 9 park units (10 percent) have
no authorized air tours because only new entrants applied for authority
at those park units.
According to the 112 park units we surveyed, more park units have other
types of aviation than air tours, and more park units cited those other
types of aviation as their biggest aviation concern. Specifically, more
national park units reported having military, general aviation, and
high-altitude commercial flights than air tours over their park
units:[Footnote 20] 89 park units (79 percent) had military
overflights, 97 park units (87 percent) had general aviation
overflights, and 95 park units (85 percent) had high-altitude
commercial overflights.[Footnote 21] In contrast, 59 park units (53
percent) reported having air tours, and 59 park units had other types
of overflights, such as pesticide spraying, search and rescue, and Park
Service research flights.[Footnote 22] Furthermore, when asked to
identify the one or two types of overflights that had the most negative
effect on their park unit, 56 park units cited general aviation and 44
park units reported military flights, compared with the 33 park units
that cited air tours.[Footnote 23]
More than half of the 112 park units we surveyed responded either that
they did not need an ATMP or they were unsure if they needed one,
despite the act's current requirement. Specifically, 43 park units (38
percent) reported not needing an ATMP, and 16 park units (14 percent)
did not know or were uncertain about the need for a plan. In our
discussions with Park Service and FAA officials and air tour operators,
we found that voluntary agreements at some park units, such as
Haleakala and Badlands National Parks and the Statue of Liberty
National Monument, had successfully established air tour routes and
elevation levels to minimize impacts from air tours on park unit
resources and visitors on the ground. These voluntary agreements, some
of which were adopted prior to the act, are good management practices
that could be replicated at other park units. For example, Haleakala
officials started working with air tour operators in the early 1990s in
response to visitors' complaints about noise from helicopter tours over
the park unit's crater, while recognizing that such tours provide an
alternative means for visitors to enjoy the park unit. In 1998, the
Haleakala officials and operators signed an agreement establishing
routes that keep air tours outside the crater and away from visitor
centers but still allow air visitors to enjoy the crater from 500 feet
above ground level within one mile of its southern boundary. In
addition, the helicopter companies agreed to take punitive action
against pilots if there are complaints of violations, and Park Service
officials and helicopter companies meet once a month to discuss issues.
As a result of this agreement, Haleakala officials and air tour
operators told us complaints have decreased substantially, and
operators have been able to maintain their tour businesses.
If some park units find that they do not need ATMPs, then the agencies
will save federal dollars if they have the option of not developing
such plans. FAA estimates spending an average of $405,000--ranging from
$257,000 to $681,000--on the environmental analyses required at each of
the first nine park units that started developing ATMPs,[Footnote 24]
compared with the agency's original estimate of an average $300,000 per
park unit. Based on the current cost and the number of park units
currently expected to develop ATMPs, the development of such plans
could cost the federal agencies an estimated $38 million in current
dollars. Officials from both agencies and members of the federal
advisory group have expressed concern about the cost and time required
to fully implement the act by developing ATMPs at all 94 park units
where applications for operating authority were still active as of
November 2005. In particular, officials at both agencies have
questioned whether it is cost-effective to develop ATMPs for park units
where there is a low level of air tour activity or where there is
greater concern about other environmental impacts, such as vehicular
traffic or other types of aviation.
Within the confines of the act, officials from both agencies said they
are considering alternatives to the ATMP development approach used at
the first nine park units--alternatives that these officials believe
would fulfill the act's requirements but potentially save the agencies
time and money in developing the plans. Under NEPA, agencies may adopt
procedures to determine which actions usually do not have any
significant impact on the environment and therefore need not be the
subject of an environmental assessment or impact statement; these
actions are referred to as categorical exclusions. In cases where the
stakeholders agree there are no significant impacts from air tours,
agency officials said they may be able to issue ATMPs using their
respective categorical exclusion procedures or they could issue an
abbreviated environmental assessment. With this in mind, FAA has
proposed creating an aviation rulemaking committee to pursue an
expedited ATMP process at park units where there is low air tour
activity and little public controversy. FAA envisions this rulemaking
committee could be chaired by a park unit's superintendent and would
comprise stakeholders from both agencies, the aviation community,
environmental groups, the nearby residential community, and any other
appropriate interest groups. The committee would hold a public hearing
and create an ATMP that would be published for comment and then issued
as a final rule. As precedent for this proposal, FAA officials pointed
to the success of a rulemaking committee it convened in 1999 to address
issues surrounding the regulation of operations conducted by fractional
owners and managers.[Footnote 25] That committee, composed of 27
representatives of the aviation community and relevant federal
agencies, drafted proposed regulations and provided the necessary
funding to conduct environmental and economic analyses of the proposed
regulations.
The two agencies are also considering three other approaches to
expedite the ATMP process: (1) group several park units under one plan,
(2) perform one environmental analysis to support multiple ATMPs, or
(3) develop an environmental impact statement that could be used for as
many ATMPs as possible nationwide. However, at the time of our review,
the agencies had not committed to any of these approaches or agreed on
when and where they might be applied; thus it is too early to know what
results may come from these efforts. Furthermore, even if they are
successful, the agencies will still have the responsibility of
developing an ATMP for each park unit where an operator proposes to
conduct air tours, then monitoring air tour operators' compliance with
an ATMP and enforcing the ATMP's requirements. These responsibilities
require resources beyond the creation of the ATMP. As a result, FAA and
the Park Service have discussed the benefit of legislative changes to
the act in order to give the agencies authority to determine which park
units need an ATMP. FAA officials expressed concern that if the
agencies were to recommend a legislative change to the Congress, it may
trigger an environmental review under NEPA that is similar to what is
already being done to develop the ATMPs, which is both costly and time-
consuming.[Footnote 26] This would effectively diminish the benefits of
seeking such a change. FAA and Park Service officials concurred that
this is an issue the Congress should handle without a formal
legislative proposal from the agencies.
Absence of Park Service Funding for Its Share of ATMP Development
Costs:
The Park Service has not funded its share of the cost of developing
ATMPs, despite its agreement with FAA to fund 40 percent of this
effort. In a memorandum of understanding between FAA and the Park
Service, the agencies agreed that FAA would fund 60 percent and the
Park Service would fund 40 percent of the cost of developing ATMPs. The
agreement describes the qualifying costs as external contractor costs
required to produce ATMPs. These qualifying costs exclude staff
salaries, benefits, and travel for agency personnel; agency equipment
and supplies; and any costs for in-house contractors hired by either
agency. From fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2005, FAA has funded
100 percent of the initial ATMPs' development, which amounts to $27
million through distinct budget appropriations,[Footnote 27] while the
Park Service had not requested or received any dedicated funding for
the program until fiscal year 2006 when Congress provided $500,000
toward air tour management. Although the Park Service has also
contributed staff time to work with FAA on the development of ATMPs,
the cost of doing so does not count toward its 40 percent obligation,
according to the memorandum of understanding. FAA officials said at the
current estimate of an average $405,000 per park unit for ATMP
development, the agency estimates it will cost an additional $13
million for fiscal years 2006 through 2010, for a total program cost
since 2001 of about $38 million for 94 ATMPs. At that level, FAA has
already received about 67 percent of the total ATMP cost--if the Park
Service receives funds for the remaining $13 million that FAA estimates
is needed, that will be just 33 percent of the total cost. If the Park
Service does not meet its obligation within the next 2 years, according
to FAA and Park Service officials, implementation may be hindered.
However, officials from both agencies said adoption of alternative
approaches to the ATMP process could lower costs.
Limited Ability to Verify and Enforce the Number of Air Tours:
FAA and existing laws and regulations do not require operators to
record and report the number of air tours they conduct over national
park units.[Footnote 28] Consequently, FAA and the Park Service lack a
mechanism to verify the number of air tours conducted over national
park units, both historically and under interim operating authority. Of
the 25 existing operators we interviewed, 23 told us they had used a
variety of documents, such as flight logs and ticket sales receipts, to
estimate their pre-2000 air tour activity in their applications for
operating authority. However, FAA officials and operators said the
quality of these data varied since there is no record-keeping
requirement, and two operators told us they had no records of their pre-
2000 activity. In addition, we found two operators had deliberately
inflated their estimates to ensure some growth in future years--even
though that action ran counter to the act's intent. Specifically:
* According to one air tour operator, because of the act's passage in
2000, the operator started keeping track of its air tours and
deliberately inflated the number reported in its application for
operating authority in 2003 to allow for future expansion. Without the
documentation to verify this information, FAA issued interim operating
authority to this operator for the inflated amount, and this operator
has not had to limit its tours in recent years as it might have if it
had reported actual numbers.
* Another operator with one pilot applied for operating authority at
dozens of park units spanning 6 Western states totaling more than 1,500
air tours annually. FAA and Park Service officials said it was unlikely
this operator could have conducted that many tours, and in their view,
the company had inflated the amount of tours it reported. However,
without reliable data to prove or disprove the operator's claim, FAA
granted the company interim operating authority for the reported
activity.
In addition, without reliable air tour data, FAA and the Park Service
cannot determine whether operators are violating their interim
authority. As a result, the agencies are limited in their ability to
enforce the act. We determined 3 of the 25 existing operators we
interviewed were exceeding the number of tours they were authorized to
conduct under interim operating authority, flying over park units for
which they did not have authority, or both. For example, one owner told
us his company was exceeding its interim operating authority by more
than 3,000 tours per year over a major national park unit, and was
conducting tours over two other park units for which it had no
authority.
According to FAA officials, it is in an operator's best interest to
keep records of its tours over national park units to verify the number
of tours conducted, and some operators are doing so as a good business
practice. Without a requirement for operators to maintain and report
such records, however, the agencies cannot take appropriate action to
enforce the act or deter violations. Consequently, those operators who
deliberately inflated their pre-2000 flight activity in their
applications enjoy higher levels of activity under interim operating
authority than the act intended, and thus may have a competitive
advantage over operators who provided more accurate data.
To address this problem, FAA told us, legislation or rulemaking is
needed to require operators to maintain and report records during the
interim operating period. Once an ATMP for a park unit is completed,
agency officials believe each ATMP should include reporting
requirements in order to make the act enforceable. However, at the time
of our review, FAA, as the agency responsible for regulating air tour
operators, had not decided how it would implement a reporting
requirement.
FAA's Inadequate Guidance Concerning the Act's Safety Requirements:
FAA has not instructed its flight standards district offices or air
tour operators on how to interpret and enforce the act's requirements
for Part 91 operators, which are now required to meet the safety
standards of Part 135 regulations. Under an exemption in the act, Part
91 operators may continue to be regulated under Part 91 if they obtain
a letter of agreement from FAA and the relevant park unit's
superintendent and are limited to a combined total of five air tours
per park unit per month. We found that 3 of the 29 companies we
interviewed had not taken steps for all their pilots and aircraft to
meet Part 135 standards, had not obtained letters of agreement from the
two agencies, and were exceeding the five-tour limit using pilots
and/or aircraft qualified only for Part 91 operations. Furthermore, we
found that the number of tours conducted by one operator's Part 91
pilots and aircraft exceeded its interim operating authority.
Specifically, this operator employed a single pilot and a single
helicopter qualified for Part 135 operations, and seven pilots and
three helicopters under Part 91 regulations, to conduct tours within a
half-mile of a major national park unit. The operator's manager
estimated those Part 91 pilots and aircraft had given hundreds of tours
within one half-mile of a national park unit in the previous year. The
manager believed the interim operating authority applied only to
himself and his one Part 135-certified helicopter, and did not apply to
the other pilots and aircraft.
Officials in the two FAA flight standards district offices overseeing
the three operators mentioned above were either not aware of these
circumstances or believed the operators were in compliance with the act
because they had at least a single pilot and single aircraft that were
Part 135-certified. According to officials at the district office who
were aware of the circumstances, the fact that those operators used
additional pilots and aircraft qualified for only Part 91 operations
was immaterial and not a violation of the act. FAA attorneys and other
agency managers disagreed, indicating the operators mentioned above
were in violation. They interpreted the act to mean that unless an
operator chose to operate under the Part 91 restrictions, all pilots
and aircraft conducting tours over national park units should meet Part
135 standards in order to increase safety. Until our review, FAA
officials said the issue had not been brought to their attention, and
they agreed that interpretation of the act by some FAA district offices
seemed to be inconsistent.
We found that the guidance FAA headquarters provided to district
offices and air tour operators regarding the requirements for operating
authority applications was not clear about this issue. For instance,
the guidance did not require the companies to identify the number of
pilots they employed, or what specific certification level those pilots
and their aircraft were qualified for. In the three cases where we
found the companies were exceeding the five-tour limit using Part 91
pilots and aircraft, their applications for operating authority did not
disclose their additional pilots, they did not specify the level of
certification their aircraft met, or both. Furthermore, both the act
and FAA guidance routinely use the term "operator," which is broadly
defined to refer to companies, corporations, individuals, and other
entities. Agency officials said the scope of the act's intentions was
not clear on this matter, and the common use and interpretation of the
term "operator" as a business--not an individual--could have caused
confusion within the aviation community.
Conclusions:
The National Parks Air Tour Management Act provided FAA and the Park
Service with new authority to regulate air tours over national park
units to ensure that the noise from such tours does not impair
visitors' experiences or damage park unit resources. However, some of
the act's requirements, and FAA's and the Park Service's slow
implementation, have had unintended consequences on air tour operators
and relevant park units.
The level of air tours over the park units has been held constant under
interim operating authority at pre-2000 levels for nearly 6 years
because no ATMPs have yet been completed. FAA and the Park Service, air
tour operators, and some members of Congress did not envision that so
many park units and air tour operators would be operating under interim
operating authority for so long. Maintaining the level of air tour
activity for those park units that were adversely affected by air tours
may be justified while the agencies try to assess their impacts.
However, according to the 112 park units we surveyed, many of the park
units currently scheduled to get an ATMP may not need one for the
foreseeable future--but the act does not provide the agencies with any
flexibility to determine which park units do not need ATMPs. While the
agencies are currently considering more cost-effective methods for
developing ATMPs within the confines of the act, it is too early to
know what results may come from those efforts. Amending the act to
authorize the agencies to determine which park units should develop
ATMPs would go a long way to addressing the unintended consequences of
the act at a number of park units, and could save federal dollars by
not requiring the development of ATMPs for some park units. Park units
identified as needing an ATMP would continue to be regulated under the
act as they are now, while the other park units that do not currently
need an ATMP would become unregulated, thus allowing existing operators
at those park units to grow their businesses and new entrants to begin
operating. At any time in the future, should the level of air tour
activity at an unregulated park unit expand to such a level so as to
warrant the development of an ATMP, the agencies would have the
necessary authority to begin regulating the air tours at that park
unit. This flexibility would also encourage park units and air tour
operators, under the threat of becoming regulated, to negotiate and
comply with voluntary agreements to mitigate the impacts of air tours.
In amending the act, the Congress could consider different processes
and criteria for the agencies to determine which park units will
develop ATMPs. For example, Congress, in consultation with the
agencies, could establish a process with specific criteria that the
agencies use to determine which park units should have ATMPs. Other
options Congress could consider are a nomination process with approval
by the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group, or a process whereby
the agencies could assess the need for an ATMP based on the likelihood
of potential significant adverse impacts.
FAA has determined, but not effectively communicated or consistently
enforced, the circumstances under which air tour operators may or may
not transfer or sell their air tour allocations. As a result, air tour
operators do not know if they should plan to expand, reduce, or even
sell their business. Since some air tour operators have assumed that
their air tour allocations can be transferred or sold, they have been
doing so, with the knowledge and approval of their local FAA flight
standards district offices, contrary to the position of FAA
headquarters.
For consistent enforcement of the number of air tours authorized under
interim operating authority, and ultimately under ATMPs, FAA and the
Park Service must be able to verify the number of air tours conducted
over a national park unit by each authorized operator. Since air tour
operators are currently not required to maintain and report information
on their air tours, FAA and the Park Service are unable to enforce the
air tour allocations. By not enforcing the air tour allocations, the
agencies are allowing operators that are exceeding their allocations to
have an unfair business advantage over those operators that are
complying with the act and may also have adverse impacts on visitors'
experiences and park unit resources.
Finally, consistent enforcement of air tour operators' allocations over
national park units, both under interim operating authority and once an
ATMP is established, is vital to controlling the impacts from air tour
noise on the national park units and in ensuring a level playing field
among all the air tour operators. Nearly 6 years after the passage of
the act, a great deal of confusion remains regarding the act's safety
requirements. FAA has not provided definitive guidance to its flight
standards district offices on how they should interpret and enforce the
act's safety requirements and exemption for Part 91 operators. As a
result, this provision has generally not been enforced, and some air
tour operators are not in compliance with act.
Matter for Congressional Consideration:
To allow more cost-effective implementation of the National Parks Air
Tour Management Act, Congress may wish to consider amending the act to
authorize the agencies to determine which park units should develop
ATMPs.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To improve compliance, enforcement, and implementation of the National
Parks Air Tour Management Act, we recommend that the Secretary of
Transportation direct the Administrator of FAA to take the following
three actions:
* Communicate the agency's position to its district offices on whether
operating authority is transferable or sellable under both interim and
final operating authority, and if so, under what conditions.
* Establish a procedure for air tour operators to record and report to
FAA and the Park Service the number of air tours they conduct over
national park units, under both interim and final operating authority.
* Clearly communicate to FAA district offices how to interpret, and
thus enforce, the act's requirements for Part 91 air tour operators.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided the Departments of Transportation and the Interior with a
draft of this report for review and comment. The Department of
Transportation offered technical comments and otherwise generally
agreed with the findings of this report and agreed to consider our
recommendations as they move forward with the program. The Department
of the Interior provided written comments that are included in appendix
VI, along with our specific response. Interior generally agreed with
our findings and recommendations, but it questioned whether Congress
needs to amend the act to give the agencies greater flexibility.
Interior commented that it was concerned that amending the act could
"unnecessarily or unwittingly" jeopardize the protection of park
resources and visitor enjoyment by excluding some park units from the
ATMP process solely based on their level of air tour activity.
Furthermore, Interior commented that there are several administrative
remedies available to the agencies that might be best used to address
those park units with low air tour activity. We agree that any
amendments to the act should preserve the Park Service's authority to
develop an ATMP at any park unit it deems necessary and that park units
should not be arbitrarily excluded from the process solely based on
their level of air tour activity. However, we disagree that existing
administrative remedies would provide the flexibility that is needed to
achieve the most effective and efficient implementation of the act. The
purpose of providing flexibility in the act is not to exclude park
units that need ATMPs, but rather to provide the agencies the
flexibility not to develop ATMPs for park units where the agencies deem
them to be unnecessary. In its comments, Interior suggested support for
this approach by stating that it "— would agree to a general grant of
authority which would provide the agencies discretion to make such
determinations based on agency developed criteria that goes beyond
simply the level of air tour activity."
Interior also provided technical comments and editorial suggestions
that we have incorporated throughout the report, as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the Secretaries of
Transportation and the Interior, and other interested parties. We will
also make copies available to others upon request. In addition, the
report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this report.
If you or your staff have questions about this report, please contact
me at (202) 512-3841 or [Hyperlink, nazzaror@gao.gov]. Key
contributions to this report are listed in appendix VII.
Signed by:
Robin M. Nazzaro:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
List of Requesters:
The Honorable Daniel Inouye:
Co-Chairman:
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Jeff Bingaman:
Ranking Minority Member:
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Daniel K. Akaka:
Ranking Minority Member:
Subcommittee on National Parks:
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Lamar Alexander:
United States Senate:
The Honorable John McCain:
United States Senate:
Appendixes:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
We identified and analyzed applicable laws, regulations, policies, and
procedures to determine what actions the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (Park Service) have
taken to implement the act and what remains to be addressed.
Specifically, we used the act to identify what actions the agencies
were required to take. To learn what actions FAA and the Park Service
have taken to implement the act's requirements, we reviewed notices and
regulations published in the Federal Register and agency documents, and
interviewed agency officials at FAA and Park Service headquarters, FAA
district offices, and national park units, and air tour operators. We
selected a nonprobability sample of 12 park units to visit because 9 of
the 12 were the first park units FAA and the Park Service chose to
develop air tour management plans (ATMPs), and the other 3 faced
circumstances that differed from the first 9: one had a military flight
restriction, one was a potential candidate for an alternative method
for developing an ATMP, and one believed an ATMP was not needed because
it had so few air tours. The 12 park units are: Great Smoky Mountains,
Hawaii Volcanoes, Haleakala, and Badlands National Parks; Kalaupapa,
Pu'uhonau o Honaunau, and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Parks;
Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site; the USS Arizona Memorial; Lake
Mead National Recreation Area; and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
We assessed budget data describing the Park Service's requests for
annual appropriations and FAA's funding dedicated to developing ATMPs,
including those funds obligated to the Volpe Center. This budget
information covered the fiscal years 2001 through 2006 and were
obtained from budget appropriation reports, the agencies' budget
requests, and budget summaries provided by FAA and the Volpe Center. We
determined that these data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes
of this report. We also assessed data describing the number of air
tours by operators over various national park units. Of interest were
data on numbers of air tour operators, including existing operators,
new entrants, and total applicants, as well as numbers of annual
authorized air tours and new or increased authority requested. We
interviewed agency officials regarding a series of data reliability
questions addressing areas such as data entry, data access, quality
control procedures, and data accuracy and completeness. We asked follow-
up questions whenever necessary. We determined that these data were
sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report.
To assess how air tour operators have been affected by the
implementation of the act, we reviewed FAA and Park Service documents,
documents provided by air tour operators, and interviewed a sample of
29 operators at the 12 different park units we visited. Where
appropriate, we used documents provided by the operators, FAA, and the
Park Service to corroborate information we collected from interviews
with the air tour operators. To choose the operators to interview, we
divided the operators at each park into 3 groups based on the number of
annual air tours they were granted under interim operating authority--
small (3,000 or fewer air tours), medium (between 3,001 and 10,000 air
tours), and large (more than 10,000 air tours). Next, we randomly
selected operators in each group and met with at least three in each
group; we also met with all new entrant operators regardless of the
number at each park unit. The air tour operators we interviewed are:
Adventure Air, LC; Air Grand Canyon, Inc; American Aviation, Inc; Aris,
Inc; Aviation Ventures, Inc; Badger Helicopters, Inc; Big Island Air,
Inc; Black Hills Aerial Adventures, Inc; Call Air, Inc; Eagle Aviation,
Inc; Grand Canyon Airlines, Inc; Great Smoky Mountains Helicopter, Inc;
Helicopter Consultants of Maui, Inc; K & S Helicopters, Inc; King
Airelines, Inc; Manuiwa Airways, Inc; Maverick Helicopters, Inc;
Mauiscape Helicopters, Inc; Mokulele Flight Service, Inc; Rainbow
Pacific Helicopters, Ltd; Rambo Helicopter Charter, Inc; Rushmore
Helicopters, Inc; Safari Aviation, Inc; Scenic Airlines, Inc; Schuman
Aviation, Co. Ltd; Vista Helicopter Services, Inc; Skycraft Air
Maintenance, Ltd; Sunshine Helicopters, Inc; and Windrock Aviation,
LLC.
To assess how the national park units have been affected by
implementation of the act, we reviewed FAA and Park Service documents,
conducted a survey of all 112 national park units identified to develop
ATMPs as of July 2005, interviewed representatives of the 12 park units
we visited, and also interviewed FAA and Park Service officials at
their headquarters offices. We surveyed all national park units where
air tour operators had applied for operating authority, which includes
existing and new entrant operators. Ten tribal lands within or abutting
national park units were also identified as needing to be part of the
ATMPs developed at the relevant park units, but our review is limited
to the implementation of the act at national park units. Since our
survey was conducted, some air tour operators withdrew their
applications and other corrections were made by FAA, which resulted in
a reduced number of park units that have been identified to develop
ATMPs--as of November 2005, there are 94 park units identified to
develop ATMPs, which are listed in appendix III.
We designed our survey with the assistance of a GAO methodologist.
During its design, we reviewed a similar survey conducted by the
National Parks Conservation Association and also obtained input from
FAA and Park Service officials. Even though we surveyed all 112
national park units identified to develop ATMPs as of July 2005, the
practical difficulties of conducting any survey may introduce other
types of errors, commonly referred to as "nonsampling error." For
example, differences in how a particular question is interpreted or the
sources of information available to respondents can introduce unwanted
variability into the survey results. We included steps in both the data
collection and data analysis stages for purposes of minimizing such
nonsampling errors. We pretested the content and format of the survey
with three national park units. We also had the survey independently
reviewed by a GAO survey specialist. Based on the results of these
pretests and reviews, we revised the survey instrument as appropriate.
All returned surveys were reviewed, and we called respondents to obtain
follow-up information when questions were not answered or clarification
was needed.
Our survey response rate was 100 percent. All survey data were
keypunched, and then an additional sample of the data were verified as
an added check for accuracy of the information. The data were then
summarized and tabulated, and the aggregate results are included in
appendix II. It is worth noting that not all park units surveyed
responded to question 6. In this question, park units were asked to
identify what effect, if any, air tours over the park unit have had on
the following resources: visitors' experience, cultural/historical
resources, natural resources/wildlife, number of visitors to the park
unit, and other resources. Fifty-one park units indicated that they do
not have air tours, which would imply that the remaining 61 of the 112
park units surveyed do have air tours. Yet, 59 park units responded
that they do have air tours and 2 park units did not respond because
they were unsure whether the flights over their park units were air
tours or some other type of flight.
We conducted our work from January 2005 through January 2006 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Survey Instrument and Results from 112 National Park
Units:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Applications for Operating Authority by National Park
Unit:
Name of park unit: Acadia National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 2;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 4,585;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Arches National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 11;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 675;
New entrant operator applications: 3;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 104.
Name of park unit: Aztec Ruins National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 83;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Badlands National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 2;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 4,117;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Bandelier National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 126;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Big Bend National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Big Cypress National Preserve;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 1,260;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Biscayne National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 200;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 7;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Bryce Canyon National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 15;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 3,488;
New entrant operator applications: 6;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 956.
Name of park unit: Canyon de Chelly National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 5;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 177;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 840.
Name of park unit: Canyonlands National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 11;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 1,039;
New entrant operator applications: 4;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 104.
Name of park unit: Cape Hatteras National Seashore;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 8,170;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Capitol Reef National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 8;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 334;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Capulin Volcano National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 13;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Carlsbad Caverns National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 18;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 6;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Cedar Breaks National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 6;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 79;
New entrant operator applications: 4;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 104.
Name of park unit: Chaco Culture National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 147;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: City of Rocks National Reserve;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Colonial National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 147;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Colorado National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 57;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Coronado National Memorial;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Crater Lake National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Death Valley National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 7;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 67;
New entrant operator applications: 3;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 6.
Name of park unit: Devils Postpile National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Devils Tower National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 22;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Dinosaur National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 9;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Dry Tortugas National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 100;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: El Malpais National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 43;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: El Morro National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 43;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Everglades National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 674;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Fort Bowie National Historic Site;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Fort Davis National Historic Site;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Fort Laramie National Historic Site;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Fort Union National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 32;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 26;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Glacier National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 8;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 1,793;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 15;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 14,074;
New entrant operator applications: 4;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 944.
Name of park unit: Golden Gate National Recreation Area (includes
Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods National Monument, Presidio of San
Francisco, and Fort Point National Historic Site);
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 2,900;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Golden Spike National Historic Site;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 11;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Governors Island National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 29,432;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Grand Teton National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 4;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 74;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Great Basin National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 16;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Great Smoky Mountains National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 2;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 1,920;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Guadalupe Mountains National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 18;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Haleakala National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 10;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 26,325;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 4,140.
Name of park unit: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 14;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 28,441;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 600.
Name of park unit: Hohokam Pima National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Hovenweep National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 92;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 27;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Joshua Tree National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Kalaupapa National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 5;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 2,250;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Lake Mead National Recreation Area (includes part of
Parashant National Monument);
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 15;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 68,814;
New entrant operator applications: 4;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 1,740.
Name of park unit: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 12;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Lassen Volcanic National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 89;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Mesa Verde National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 63;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Mojave National Preserve;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 15;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Montezuma Castle National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 4;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 185;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Mount Rainier National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 6;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 173;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Mount Rushmore National Memorial;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5,608;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Natural Bridges National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 6;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 195;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Navajo National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 4;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 277;
New entrant operator applications: 3;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: North Cascades National Park (includes Lake Chelan
National Recreation Area);
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 6;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 437;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Olympic National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 4;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 139;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 48.
Name of park unit: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Pecos National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 32;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Petrified Forest National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 60;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Petroglyph National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 45;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Pipe Spring National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 2;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 26;
New entrant operator applications: 3;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Point Reyes National Seashore;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 2,900;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Rainbow Bridge National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 9;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 10,175;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 104.
Name of park unit: Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Saguaro National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 20;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 17;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 2,900;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: San Juan Island National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 20;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 10;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 16.
Name of park unit: Statue of Liberty National Monument (includes Ellis
Island National Monument);
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 5;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 35,837;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 5;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 98;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Timpanogos Cave National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 254;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Tumacacori National Historical Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 5;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Tuzigoot National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 62;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Voyageurs National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 60;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Walnut Canyon National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 49;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Wright Brothers National Memorial;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 0;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 0;
New entrant operator applications: 1;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Wupatki National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 3;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 60;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Yellowstone National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 5;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 148;
New entrant operator applications: 3;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 8.
Name of park unit: Yosemite National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 115;
New entrant operator applications: 2;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: unknown.
Name of park unit: Yucca House National Monument;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 1;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 63;
New entrant operator applications: 0;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 0.
Name of park unit: Zion National Park;
Existing operators with interim operating authority: 14;
Air tours authorized under interim operating authority: 742;
New entrant operator applications: 6;
Air tours requested by new entrant operators[A]: 959.
Source: FAA.
[A] Many of the new entrant operators did not request a specific number
of air tours in their applications for operating authority, resulting
in "unknown" for some of the park units listed in this table.
Note: Since our survey in July 2005, when 112 park units were expected
to develop ATMPs, 15 park units have been eliminated due to two
operators' withdrawing their applications for authority to conduct
tours over those park units. The two operators had been the sole
applicants at the following 15 park units: Bent's Old Fort National
Historic Site; Cabrillo National Monument; Channel Islands National
Park; Charles Pinckney National Historic Site; Chiricahua National
Monument; Curecanti National Recreation Area; Gateway National
Recreation Area; Lava Beds National Monument; Lower East Side Tenement
Museum National Historic Site; Manhattan Sites (which includes Castle
Clinton National Monument, Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site,
Federal Hall National Memorial, General Grant National Memorial,
Hamilton Grange National Memorial, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace
National Historic Site); Manzanar National Historic Site; Pinnacles
National Monument; Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area;
Tonto National Monument; and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. In
addition, FAA withdrew interim operating authority in October 2005 for
one operator at three park units where there were no other applicants.
Those three park units are: John Muir National Historic Site, Redwood
National and State Parks, and Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front
National Historical Park. This information reflects applications for
operating authority that were still active as of November 2005.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix IV: Applications for Operating Authority by Air Tour Operator:
Name of air tour operator: Above It All, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
3,878.
Name of air tour operator: Adams, Bruce M;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 50;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 50;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,888.
Name of air tour operator: Adventure Air, LC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 26;
Total number of park units: 26;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Aero-Copters of Arizona, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 5;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 5;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,556.
Name of air tour operator: Air Grand Canyon Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 21;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 21;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
330.
Name of air tour operator: Alika Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
2,923.
Name of air tour operator: American Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 20;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 20;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
4,536.
Name of air tour operator: Aris, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
3,996.
Name of air tour operator: Arrow West Aviation;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 5;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 5;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
654.
Name of air tour operator: Aviation Ventures, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 6;
Total number of park units: 7;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
6,756.
Name of air tour operator: Badger Helicopters Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
4,099.
Name of air tour operator: Bar Harbor Aviation;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
2,000.
Name of air tour operator: Big Island Air, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,643.
Name of air tour operator: Black Hills Aerial Adventures, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
363.
Name of air tour operator: Burrus Flight Seeing Service;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,500.
Name of air tour operator: Call Air, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
404.
Name of air tour operator: Carisch Helicopters Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
20.
Name of air tour operator: Classic Helicopter Corporation;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 1;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
32.
Name of air tour operator: Columbia Air Services-BHB, LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
2,585.
Name of air tour operator: Corporate Air;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 1;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Courtney Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
114.
Name of air tour operator: Dairy Air Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
6,500.
Name of air tour operator: Eagle Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
85.
Name of air tour operator: English, Daniel B;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
89.
Name of air tour operator: Grand Canyon Airlines, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 12;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 12;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
10,765.
Name of air tour operator: Great Smoky Mountain Helicopter, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
120.
Name of air tour operator: Gretzke, Robert C;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 4;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
2,234.
Name of air tour operator: Hawaii Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
5,823.
Name of air tour operator: Heli USA Airways, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 4;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
7,481.
Name of air tour operator: Helicopter Consultants of Maui, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
20,761.
Name of air tour operator: Helicopter Flight Services, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
3,500.
Name of air tour operator: Homestead Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
30.
Name of air tour operator: Island Air, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 4;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
42.
Name of air tour operator: Jamestown Flight Center;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
147.
Name of air tour operator: K & S Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 1;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,684.
Name of air tour operator: Kanab, Utah Air Service;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 7;
Total number of park units: 7;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: King Airelines Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 7;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 7;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
4,452.
Name of air tour operator: Kruger, James W;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
750.
Name of air tour operator: Lake Chelan Air Service Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
400.
Name of air tour operator: Las Vegas Helicopters Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 4;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,412.
Name of air tour operator: Laughlin Aviation LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
3,015.
Name of air tour operator: Liberty Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
58,864.
Name of air tour operator: Manuiwa Airways, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
800.
Name of air tour operator: Maui Island Air, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
741.
Name of air tour operator: Mauiscape Helicopters;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 1;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Maverick Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 14;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 13;
Total number of park units: 27;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
9,798.
Name of air tour operator: McClelland, John and Terri;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
8,700.
Name of air tour operator: Minuteman Aviation Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
717.
Name of air tour operator: Mokulele Flight Service, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
60.
Name of air tour operator: Montana Aircraft, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
66.
Name of air tour operator: Montana By Air LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
12.
Name of air tour operator: Natures Designs, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
100.
Name of air tour operator: New York Helicopter Charter, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
2,655.
Name of air tour operator: North East Air and Sea Services LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
125.
Name of air tour operator: Osprey Aero;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
60.
Name of air tour operator: Papillon Airways Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 8;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 8;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
11,435.
Name of air tour operator: Paragon Air, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,968.
Name of air tour operator: Pavco, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
87.
Name of air tour operator: Platt, Phil;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
170.
Name of air tour operator: Pro Aire Enterprises;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 3;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Rainbow Pacific Helicopters, Ltd;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
135.
Name of air tour operator: Rambo Helicopter Charter, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
1,800.
Name of air tour operator: Red Eagle Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
159.
Name of air tour operator: Reeder Flying Service;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 3;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Rite Bros Aviation Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
80.
Name of air tour operator: Rogers Helicopters Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
9,000.
Name of air tour operator: Rushmore Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
5,200.
Name of air tour operator: Safari Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
3,920.
Name of air tour operator: Scenic Airlines, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 5;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 5;
Total number of park units: 10;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
20,804.
Name of air tour operator: Schuman Aviation Company, Co. Ltd;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
75.
Name of air tour operator: Selway Aviation LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
20.
Name of air tour operator: Skycraft Air Maintenance;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 1;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Slickrock Air Guides, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
969.
Name of air tour operator: Solid Edge Aviation;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 5;
Total number of park units: 5;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Sphere One;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 4;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Spirit Mountain Aviation LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 2;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 2;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
90.
Name of air tour operator: Steve Winters d/b/a M & S Aero;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
361.
Name of air tour operator: Sundance Helicopters Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 4;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
895.
Name of air tour operator: Sunshine Helicopters, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
8,205.
Name of air tour operator: Swanstrom, Paul N;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 5;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 5;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
250.
Name of air tour operator: Van Air, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
60.
Name of air tour operator: Ventura Air Services, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
125.
Name of air tour operator: Vista Helicopter Services;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 0;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 4;
Total number of park units: 4;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
0.
Name of air tour operator: Westwind Aviation, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
8,540.
Name of air tour operator: Wilson Aviation, LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 1;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 1;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
60.
Name of air tour operator: Windrock Aviation, LLC;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 14;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 7;
Total number of park units: 21;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
47.
Name of air tour operator: Wings of Wenatchee, Inc;
Number of park units applied for as an existing operator: 3;
Number of park units applied for as a new entrant operator: 0;
Total number of park units: 3;
Total interim operating authority granted (number of air tour flights):
40.
Source: FAA.
Note: This information reflects applications for operating authority
that were still active as of November 2005.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix V: Air Tours Authorized under Interim Operating Authority by
National Park Unit:
Name of park unit: Lake Mead National Recreation Area (includes part of
Parashant National Monument);
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 68,814[A].
Name of park unit: Statue of Liberty National Monument (includes Ellis
Island National Monument);
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 35,837.
Name of park unit: Governors Island National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 29,432.
Name of park unit: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 28,441.
Name of park unit: Haleakala National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 26,325.
Name of park unit: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 14,074.
Name of park unit: Rainbow Bridge National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 10,175.
Name of park unit: Cape Hatteras National Seashore;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 8,170.
Name of park unit: Mount Rushmore National Memorial;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5,608.
Name of park unit: Acadia National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 4,585.
Name of park unit: Badlands National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 4,117.
Name of park unit: Bryce Canyon National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 3,488.
Name of park unit: Golden Gate National Recreation Area (includes
Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods National Monument, Presidio of San
Francisco, and Fort Point National Historic Site);
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 2,900.
Name of park unit: Point Reyes National Seashore;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 2,900.
Name of park unit: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 2,900.
Name of park unit: Kalaupapa National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 2,250.
Name of park unit: Great Smoky Mountains National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 1,920.
Name of park unit: Glacier National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 1,793.
Name of park unit: Big Cypress National Preserve;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 1,260.
Name of park unit: Canyonlands National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 1,039.
Name of park unit: Zion National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 742.
Name of park unit: Arches National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 675.
Name of park unit: Everglades National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 674.
Name of park unit: North Cascades National Park (includes Lake Chelan
National Recreation Area);
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 437.
Name of park unit: Capitol Reef National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 334.
Name of park unit: Navajo National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 277.
Name of park unit: Timpanogos Cave National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 254.
Name of park unit: Biscayne National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 200.
Name of park unit: Natural Bridges National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 195.
Name of park unit: Montezuma Castle National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 185.
Name of park unit: Canyon de Chelly National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 177.
Name of park unit: Mount Rainier National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 173.
Name of park unit: Yellowstone National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 148.
Name of park unit: Chaco Culture National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 147.
Name of park unit: Colonial National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 147.
Name of park unit: Olympic National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 139.
Name of park unit: Bandelier National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 126.
Name of park unit: Yosemite National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 115.
Name of park unit: Dry Tortugas National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 100.
Name of park unit: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 98.
Name of park unit: Hovenweep National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 92.
Name of park unit: Lassen Volcanic National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 89.
Name of park unit: Aztec Ruins National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 83.
Name of park unit: Cedar Breaks National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 79.
Name of park unit: Grand Teton National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 74.
Name of park unit: Death Valley National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 67.
Name of park unit: Mesa Verde National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 63.
Name of park unit: Yucca House National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 63.
Name of park unit: Tuzigoot National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 62.
Name of park unit: Petrified Forest National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 60.
Name of park unit: Voyageurs National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 60.
Name of park unit: Wupatki National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 60.
Name of park unit: Colorado National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 57.
Name of park unit: Walnut Canyon National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 49.
Name of park unit: Petroglyph National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 45.
Name of park unit: El Malpais National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 43.
Name of park unit: El Morro National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 43.
Name of park unit: Fort Union National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 32.
Name of park unit: Pecos National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 32.
Name of park unit: Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 27.
Name of park unit: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 26.
Name of park unit: Pipe Spring National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 26.
Name of park unit: Devils Tower National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 22.
Name of park unit: Saguaro National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 20.
Name of park unit: San Juan Island National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 20.
Name of park unit: Carlsbad Caverns National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 18.
Name of park unit: Guadalupe Mountains National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 18.
Name of park unit: Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 17.
Name of park unit: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 16.
Name of park unit: Mojave National Preserve;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 15.
Name of park unit: Capulin Volcano National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 13.
Name of park unit: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 12.
Name of park unit: Golden Spike National Historic Site;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 11.
Name of park unit: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 10.
Name of park unit: Dinosaur National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 9.
Name of park unit: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 7.
Name of park unit: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 6.
Name of park unit: Big Bend National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Coronado National Memorial;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Fort Bowie National Historic Site;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Fort Davis National Historic Site;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Hohokam Pima National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: Tumacacori National Historical Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 5.
Name of park unit: City of Rocks National Reserve;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Crater Lake National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Devils Postpile National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Fort Laramie National Historic Site;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Great Basin National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Joshua Tree National Park;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Name of park unit: Wright Brothers National Memorial;
Total number of air tours authorized under interim operating authority
per year: 0.
Source: FAA.
[A] At the time of our review, FAA officials believed that many of the
tours authorized at Lake Mead National Recreation Area were actually
transportation-only flights en route to the Grand Canyon National Park.
Such flights are exempt from the National Parks Air Tour Management
Act, but operators nonetheless applied for operating authority because
of their uncertainty.
Note: This information reflects applications for operating authority
that were still active as of November 2005.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department of the Interior:
United States Department of the Interior:
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY:
Washington, D.C. 20240:
JAN 5 2006:
Ms. Robin M. Nazzaro:
Director, Natural Resources and Environment:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.:
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Ms. Nazzaro:
Thank you for providing the Department of the Interior the opportunity
to review and comment on the draft U.S. Government Accountability
Office report entitled: "National Parks Air Tour Management Act: More
Flexibility and Better Enforcement Needed" (GAO-06-263):
Specific comments are listed in the enclosure. If you have any further
questions, please contact Karen Trevino, Manager Air Tour Division, at
970-225-3563.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Paul Hoff:
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks:
Enclosure:
Department of the Interior Comments on the GAO Draft Report entitled,
"National Parks Air Tour Management Act: More Flexibility and Better
Enforcement Needed" (GAO-06-263):
We provide the following comments, both general and technical in
nature, which serve to better explain or characterize Department's
position with respect to the findings, conclusions and recommendations
made by the GAO. For ease and efficiency, these comments follow the
same general outline as the report itself.
I. Background:
We concur that implementation of the National Parks Air Tour Management
Act (NPATMA) has been slow. As the report points out, one of the
reasons for delay was due to the fact that the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and the National Park Service (NPS) could not
reach agreement on what constitutes a significant impact. The report
does not, however, explain why this is an issue which would be helpful
to both the requesters of this report and the public. Implementation of
the NPATMA would have proceeded more quickly if the agencies had, from
the onset, more closely followed Congressional intent with respect to
agency expertise and jurisdiction by allowing the NPS to analyze and
determine the significance of impacts, if any, on national park
resources. Just as the FAA has the responsibility for dealing with
safety, the NPS is responsible for and has jurisdiction over park
resources. Moreover, it is clear from the legislative history on the
NPATMA that Congress intended that each agency retain their respective
administrative roles, responsibilities and expertise regarding airspace
management (FAA) and protecting park resources and values and visitor
experiences (NPS).
We agree with the four key issues identified as critical to the success
of implementing the NPATMA. We do however have comments regarding the
findings and recommendations for the first 3 key issues.
II. Section Specific Comments:
Finding 1) Lack of Flexibility for Determining Which Park Units Should
Receive ATMPs:
We agree that the NPATMA requires that an Air Tour Management Plan
(ATMP) be developed at any park unit where an application for operating
authority is made, and that the agencies are not authorized to exclude
any park unit from the ATMP process where an application for operating
authority has been made. However, while we agree that there is lack of
flexibility in the Act regarding the determination of which parks ATMPs
will be developed for, we do not agree with the conclusion that a
legislative amendment is necessary to address parks with low levels of
air tour activity or to implement the Act in a more efficient and
equitable manner. There are several administrative remedies currently
available to the agencies that might better address low air tour
activity without unnecessarily or unwittingly jeopardizing the
protection of park resources and visitor enjoyment. In the alternative,
we would agree with a general grant of authority which would provide
the agencies discretion to make such determinations based on agency
developed criteria that goes beyond simply the level of air tour
activity. Although certainly a significant factor, adverse effects from
air tours cannot be determined solely by the level of air tour
activity. Where, when and at what altitude air tours operate are also
important determinants of potentially adverse impacts. Consequently,
eliminating the requirement for an ATMP at park units based solely on
the level of air tour activity would defeat the main purpose for the
enactment of NPATMA which was to identify where air tours might be
impacting park resources in order to adequately manage or regulate
them.
The Department agrees that the Act could and should be implemented in a
more cost effective manner and to that end is working with the FAA to
identify where and how best to do that. Various programmatic approaches
currently being considered by both agencies could provide the same
flexibility and address the same issues that a legislative amendment
could.
Last, the report points out that this recommendation was based in part
on a survey where many park units reported they did not think they
needed an ATMP or that noise from air tours was not the primary
aviation issue. It is important to note that the FAA and NPS have not
had any contact with or made any efforts at implementation in most of
the those parks units and therefore, whether or not an ATMP is needed
is not necessarily something many park units would be in a position to
assess independently without access to baseline acoustic data. A
quantitative scientific approach such as that being used for the ATMP
process includes an analysis of all aviation noise sources at a park
and is the best means we have for determining noise impacts to park
resources and visitor use and enjoyment. We are concerned that the
results from an anecdotal survey might be used to improperly suggest
that some parks do not need ATMPs or used to imply that low levels of
air tour activity alone equates to little or no adverse effects.
Finding 2) Absence of Park Service Funding for Its Share of ATMP
Development Costs:
We disagree with FAA's assertion that lack of NPS funding caused the
ATMP schedule to be scaled back. In many conversations with FAA about
this issue, the NPS and the Department were told that the primary
reason for scaling back the number of ATMP's that were originally
intended to be initiated was the realization that it would be imprudent
and premature to start new ATMP's given the number of critical issues
that required resolution between the two agencies. The FAA advised the
NPS and the National Parks Overflights Advisory Group that the FAA
chose to scale back the development of ATMP's in order to give the
agencies time to develop a more prudent and effective approach to ATMP
development, including an implementation plan that could help guide the
agencies in the development of ATMP's. This was acknowledged by both
Bill Withycombe and Paul Hoffman during Congressional testimony in July
2004.
The Department acknowledges and agrees that the NPS needs to fiend its
agreed upon share of ATMP costs and has been working diligently to
obtain such funding. It should be noted that although the NPS has not
fully funded its 40% commitment under the interagency Memorandum of
Understanding, the NPS has contributed greatly by providing in-house
expertise in areas where the FAA lacks such expertise. Lacking such in-
house expertise, the FAA uses outside contractors that are more
expensive and add to the overall ATMP costs covered under the MOU.
Finding 3) Limited Ability to Verify and Enforce the Number of Air
Tours:
While we are gratified to see the recommendation that the FAA develop a
compliance, reporting and enforcement process, we must note that the
need for such a process goes well beyond enforcement as suggested in
the report. The current limited ability to verify air tours has
affected the ability of both agencies to deal with increases in interim
operating authority and request for operating authority from new
entrants, in addition to slowing down the environmental compliance
process. The report mentions that the NPS would consider increases in
the Interim Operating Authority under which air tour companies
currently operate. However, the Act requires that the NPS make a
determination that those increases would not cause a noise problem and
therefore certain information would be needed from air tour operators
to make those determinations - information not currently available
according to the FAA. Moreover, the report does not mention that FAA
has no authority to collect that data, and consequently the agencies
have been unable to address requests for increases. In addition, a
credible and legally defensible environmental impact analysis requires
sufficient available data and determination that the environmental
effects from air tour overflights is no different. The report notes the
quality of the data varies and some operators have deliberately
supplied false data. Specifically, the lack of quality data and suspect
data has affected the agencies' ability to accurately determine the
environmental impacts of air tours at the Hawaii parks where ATMPs are
being developed due to uncertainty about the actual level of air tour
activity occurring.
Finding 4) FAA's Inadequate Guidance Concerning the Act's Safety
Requirements:
We have no response regarding this finding and recommendation as FAA
has jurisdiction over aviation safety.
III. Omissions:
One of the most significant causes of delay in the implementation of
the NPATMA has been lack of agreement between the FAA and the NPS
regarding respective roles and responsibilities based on agency
expertise and jurisdiction yet the report does not specifically address
this issue. The report should have a stronger focus on one of the
biggest impediments to implementation of the Act.
Just as the FAA determines matters of airspace safety in the ATMP
process, it is our opinion that the NPS should determine the impacts of
ATMPs upon the resources and values of national parks and visitor
experience. The FAA's mandate lies in managing aviation safety and has
sole authority to control airspace and notwithstanding ancillary
expertise in general environmental matters, its role in ATMPs should be
based on that. Similarly, the NPS has the responsibility of conserving
scenery, natural and cultural resources, and wildlife in national parks
in ways that leave them unimpaired for future generations and the
agency's role should be based on that despite its ancillary agency
expertise in aviation. Furthermore, just as the FAA has jurisdiction
over U.S. airspace, the NPS has administrative jurisdiction over the
management of national park resources.
Moreover, based on conversations with the National Park Overflight Work
Group members (the predecessor to National Park Overflight Advisory
Group upon whose recommendations to Congress this Act was based), this
bifurcation of responsibility based on agency expertise is exactly how
Congress had envisioned the statute would be jointly implemented by the
two agencies. Recommendations by GAO regarding a strong articulation of
this intent would have been helpful to both agencies and would go a
long way toward more effective implementation of the Act in general.
III. Technical Comments:
Highlight Page, What GAO Found, first sentence. Change the last word in
the sentence from "developed" to "completed," to be more consistent
with other language that refers to plans that are under development;
however, it is correct to say that none have been completed.
Page 7, Limited Ability to Verify and Enforce the Number of Air Tours,
3rD sentence. Not only are the agencies limited in their ability to
enforce the Act, limited ability to verify and enforce the number of
air tours has also made developing air tours more difficult.
Page 9, first paragraph after the bullets, last sentence. Insert
"decision" between NEPA and document. The Act specifically refers to
the decision document, e.g. the Finding of No Significant Impact or
Record of Decision. These are separate documents from the NEPA document
(environmental assessment or environmental impact statement).
Page 41, 2nd paragraph, 4th sentence. Correct spelling of "unis" to
"units"
Pages 1 and 4. The FAA issued implementing regulations not "the
agencies"
Various - Parks do not "receive" ATMP's; as a part of the team with the
FAA and NPS they actually help develop them.
The following are GAO's comments on the Department of the Interior's
(Interior) letter dated January 5, 2006.
GAO Comments:
1. While it is true that FAA and the Park Service could not agree on
what constitutes a significant impact, we did not include specifics of
the disagreement because, according to agency officials and the
implementation plan, the problem has been resolved. Furthermore, the
agencies' slow implementation of the act has been discussed in past
congressional hearings and we concluded that we could not provide any
new information.
2. We agree that Congress, in amending the act, should preserve the
Park Service's authority to develop an ATMP for any park unit it deems
necessary. Our intent for suggesting that Congress consider amending
the act was to provide the agencies with the flexibility not to develop
ATMPs for park units where the Park Service deems them to be
unnecessary. That flexibility currently does not exist in the act. As
we discuss in the report, an ATMP may be unnecessary for a specific
park unit for a variety of reasons, including (1) a low level of air
tour activity, (2) an existing voluntary agreement governing air tour
activities, or (3) more significant effects by other types of
overflights at the park unit. We agree that whether or not an ATMP is
necessary for a specific park unit could depend on a number of factors
and not just solely on the level of air tour activity. Furthermore, we
agree that in amending the act Congress should not arbitrarily exclude
park units from the ATMP process solely on the basis of their level of
air tour activity. We believe that such an exclusion would be an
oversimplification of a complex issue, and we did not imply such a
solution in this report.
3. We disagree that programmatic approaches taken by the agencies could
provide the same flexibility as a legislative amendment. As Interior
acknowledges in its comments, the act does not give the agencies the
authority to exclude any park unit from the ATMP process. In the matter
for congressional consideration, we offer the point that Congress may
wish to give the agencies such authority.
4. We disagree with Interior's characterization of our survey results
as "anecdotal." We surveyed all 112 park units that were expected to
develop ATMPs as of July 2005, and we received a 100 percent response
rate. Per our instructions, the survey was to be completed by Park
Service officials with the most knowledge of the subject area. We
believe that our methodology was sound and that we gathered the most
authoritative data currently available from Park Service officials with
first-hand knowledge of the different causes of noise at their
respective park units. However, since only a small number of park units
have completed sound monitoring studies as part of the development of
an ATMP, we acknowledge that the responses provided were generally
based on the survey respondents' first-hand knowledge and years of
experience rather than scientific data. Nevertheless, the survey
results clearly indicate that there are a number of park units
currently scheduled to develop ATMPs that may not need them. We agree
with Interior's comments that the survey results should not be "used to
imply that low levels of air tour activity alone equates to little or
no adverse effects."
5. We agree with this comment and we have revised the discussion of
this issue in the final report accordingly.
6. We agree, and note in the report, that the Park Service needs
additional information in order to grant increases in air tour
allocations under interim operating authority. FAA confirmed that it
does have authority to collect this data from air tour operators, as it
is the agency with jurisdiction over operators and could require
operators to provide the necessary information if an operator wants to
increase its air tours under interim operating authority. The agencies
would have to evaluate the information and determine whether an
environmental analysis is necessary.
[End of section]
Appendix VII GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Robin M. Nazzaro, (202) 512-3841, [Hyperlink, nazzaror@gao.gov]:
Staff Acknowledgment:
In addition to the individual named above, Jeffery D. Malcolm,
Assistant Director, Josey Ballenger, Alisha Chugh, Richard Johnson,
Cathy Hurley, Wyatt R. Hundrup, Judy Pagano, Carol Herrnstadt Shulman,
and Monica Wolford made key contributions to this report. Also
contributing to the report were Roy Judy and Steve Martin.
(360540):
FOOTNOTES
[1] Pub. L. No. 106-181, title VIII, 114 Stat. 185 (2000). "National
park units" refers to all units in the National Park System, including
national historic sites, memorials, monuments, parks, recreation areas,
and other designations. The act also applies to all tribal lands within
or abutting national park units--however, we limited the scope of our
review to national park units.
[2] 67 Fed. Reg. 65662 (Oct. 25, 2002). A "commercial air tour
operator" is any person who conducts a commercial air tour operation,
including individuals, companies, and corporations. A "commercial air
tour operation" is any flight for hire carried out for sightseeing
purposes over a national park unit below 5,000 feet above ground level;
we refer to these operations as "air tours" in this report.
[3] Six of the sixteen new entrants are existing operators that have
received interim operating authority at some national park units but
have requested authority as new entrants at additional park units,
while 10 are solely new entrants that have no authority to conduct
tours over any park units.
[4] U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
"National Park Overflights," October 3, 2002; and U.S. Senate Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks,
"National Parks Air Tour Management Act," July 22, 2004.
[5] Results from nonprobability samples cannot be used to make
projections about a population because in a nonprobability sample, some
elements of the population being studied have no chance or an unknown
chance of being selected as part of the sample.
[6] The act does not apply to (1) the Grand Canyon National Park or
tribal lands within or abutting the Grand Canyon National Park; (2) any
air tour operator flying over or near Lake Mead National Recreation
Area, solely as a transportation route, to conduct an air tour over
Grand Canyon National Park; and (3) any land or waters in Alaska. The
act prohibits any air tours over Rocky Mountain National Park. Grand
Canyon National Park has separate legislation to regulate air tours
over that park: the National Parks Overflights Act of 1987 (Pub. L. No.
100-91, 101 Stat. 676).
[7] 67 Fed. Reg. 65662 (Oct. 25, 2002).
[8] 70 Fed. Reg. 3972 (Jan. 27, 2005).
[9] 70 Fed. Reg. 36456 (June 23, 2005).
[10] The agencies began developing ATMPs at nine park units, but three
park units in Hawaii were removed from the process in July 2005 when
air tour operators withdrew their applications to conduct air tours
over those park units and instead agreed to fly at least one half-mile
outside those park units. The park units are: Pu'uhonau o Honaunau and
Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Parks and Pu'ukohola Heiau
National Historic Site.
[11] FAA and the Park Service drafted an implementation plan in
September 2005, and it was undergoing internal review at both agencies
at the time of this report.
[12] "Quiet technology" is defined in regulations governing air tours
in the vicinity of Grand Canyon National Park, and the agencies adopted
this definition in June 2005 to apply to all park units that develop
ATMPs.
[13] Pilots are required to pass a check ride compliant with Part 135
standards, in the company of an FAA inspector, in order to obtain Part
135 certification.
[14] FAA has implemented the act's safety requirement such that if a
Part 91 operator applies for Part 135 certification at the time of its
application for operating authority, the operator may be
"grandfathered" during interim operating authority at its pre-2000
level of air tour activity, rather than be limited to the Part 91
exception. However, FAA officials said that once an ATMP is completed,
such operators would have to be Part 135-certified in order to receive
final operating authority.
[15] Appendix I describes our survey methodology, and appendix II is a
copy of our survey with the aggregate results.
[16] Of the 14 park units, 7 responded that there were no positive and
no negative effects, 4 responded that there was no positive effect, and
3 that there was no negative effect.
[17] Fifty-one park units did not respond to this question. An
additional two park units did not respond because they were unsure
whether the flights over their park units were air tours or some other
type of flight.
[18] FAA's goal is to draft ATMPs for all park units that had active
applications for operating authority in 2005 by the end of fiscal year
2010. FAA expects that the rulemaking process for each ATMP will take
an additional 1 1/2 years.
[19] The number of annual air tours authorized under interim operating
authority at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and part of Parashant
National Monument totals 68,814. However, at the time of our review,
FAA officials believed that many of these flights over Lake Mead were
actually transportation-only flights en route to the Grand Canyon
National Park. Such flights are exempt from the National Parks Air Tour
Management Act, but operators nonetheless applied for operating
authority because of their uncertainty.
[20] General aviation generally refers to small, private, or limited
commercial aircraft operators that must comply with 14 C.F.R. Part 91
requirements. Commercial aviation is generally accepted to refer to
medium or large aircraft used for air transportation purposes under 14
C.F.R. Part 121.
[21] The number of park units reporting different types of aviation
exceeds the 112 park units surveyed, and the sum of the percentages
exceeds 100 percent, because the park units were asked to identify all
types of overflights that were applicable at their park unit.
[22] Although existing operators had interim authority to conduct air
tours over more than 59 park units at the time of our survey, the lower
number of park units reporting air tours could be explained by
operators not using their authority, Park Service officials having
difficulty in identifying the type of aviation, or some other unknown
factor.
[23] Seventeen park units reported high-altitude commercial flights, 22
park units reported other types of overflights as being among the two
types of overflights that had the most negative effect on their park
unit, and 6 park units reported none.
[24] While it is possible that future environmental analyses will cost
less due to a park unit's size, increased efficiencies based on lessons
learned or alternative methods put into place, or other factors, FAA
did not have cost projections for future ATMPs at the time of our
report.
[25] Fractional ownership operations began in 1986 with the creation of
an industry program that offered aircraft owners increased flexibility
in the ownership and operation of aircraft. This program used current
aircraft acquisition concepts, including shared or joint aircraft
ownership, and provided for the management of the aircraft by an
aircraft management company.
[26] NEPA regulations require an environmental impact statement to
accompany a legislative proposal that would have significant
environmental effects.
[27] Of the $29 million FAA has received through distinct budget
appropriations to develop ATMPs, FAA has directed about $27 million to
the Volpe Center and approximately $2 million to internal FAA costs.
[28] Regulations do require air tour operators to record and report
their flight activity over Grand Canyon National Park to FAA, but this
park unit is exempt from the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of
2000.
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