101 STAT. 674
PUBLIC LAW 100-91—AUG. 18, 1987
Public Law 100-91 100th Congress An Act Aug. 18, 1987 [H.R. 921]
To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the appropriate minimum altitude for aircraft flying over national park system units.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 16 USC l a - 1 note.
Safety. Pollution. Alaska.
SECTION 1. STUDY OF PARK OVERFLIGHTS. (a) STUDY BY PARK SERVICE.—The Secretary of the
Interior
(hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary"), acting through the Director of the National Park Service, shall conduct a study to determine the proper minimum altitude which should be maintained by aircraft when flying over units of the National Park System. The Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (hereinafter referred to as the "Administrator"), shall provide technical assistance to the Secretary in carrying out the study. (b) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS OF STUDY.—The study shall identify any problems associated with overflight by aircraft of units of the National Park System and shall provide information regarding the types of overflight which may be impacting on park unit resources. The study shall distinguish between the impacts caused by sightseeing aircraft, military aircraft, commercial aviation, general aviation, and other forms of aircraft which affect such units. The study shall identify those park system units, and portions thereof, in which the most serious adverse impacts from aircraft overflights exist. (c) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—The study under this section shall include research at the following units of the National Park System: Cumberland Island National Seashore, Yosemite National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Haleakala National Park, Glacier National Park, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and at no less than four additional units of the National Park System, excluding all National Park System units in the State of Alaska. The research at each such unit shall provide information and an evaluation regarding each of the following: (1) the impacts of aircraft noise on the safety of the park system users, including hikers, rock-climbers, and boaters; (2) the impairment of visitor enjoyment associated with flights over such units of the National Park System; (3) other injurious effects of overflights on the natural, historical, and cultural resources for which such units were established; and (4) the values associated with aircraft flights over such units of the National Park System in terms of visitor enjoyment, the protection of persons or property, search and rescue operations and firefighting. Such research shall evaluate the impact of overflights by both fixedwing aircraft and helicopters. The research shall include an evaluation of the differences in noise levels within such units of the
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