	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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Furthermore, air tour  operators face uncertainty about whether they can legally transfer their  authority to conduct 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. As a  result, the agencies are limited in their ability to enforce the act. 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. 11. Since the National Parks Air Tour Management Act was passed in 2000, to what extent has the  implementation of the Act had a negative effect on your Park Unit? 6.
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.