Wed, Jun 11, 2003
Congress Needs Your Informed Input
HAI has sent us an urgent legislative alert, and we're happy to
pass it on:
The House version of the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill (H.R. 2115) will be
considered on the floor of the House today
(Wednesday). The measure includes many provisions of benefit to the
rotorcraft industry. Congressman Jim Matheson (D-Utah) is working
to offer an amendment to strip language from the bill pertaining to
changes to the Grand Canyon National Park Special Flight
Rules Area Operations Curfew. The House Rules Committee at
present is blocking the Matheson Amendment from reaching the floor
of the House. Helicopter Association International (HAI) strongly
supports passage of the FAA Reauthorization Bill with this language
left intact.
PLEASE TELEPHONE, FAX, OR EMAIL YOUR ELECTED CONGRESSMAN OR
CONGRESSWOMAN THIS AFTERNOON TO ASK THAT THEY NOT SUPPORT ANY
AMENDMENT OFFERED BY CONGRESSMAN MATHESON OR OTHERS TO STRIP THIS
LANGUAGE FROM THE BILL.
Under the language presently in the bill and
approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,
the FAA Administrator may not restrict commercial Special Flight
Rules Area Operations in the Dragon and Zuni Point corridors of the
Grand Canyon National Park during the period beginning 1-hour after
sunrise and ending 1-hour before sunset, unless required for
aviation safety purposes.
Congresswoman Shelly Berkley (D-Nevada), a member of the House
Aviation Subcommittee, Congressman Jon Porter (R-Nevada), a member
of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and
Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada) have been approached by HAI and
other organizations and asked to help prevent passage of any
amendment offered on the floor of the House. Votes are critical and
HAI members in Western states near the Grand Canyon are strongly
encouraged to contact their elected Member of Congress.
HAI supports the use of quieter aircraft by air tour operators
in the Grand Canyon and believes that air tours should not be
subject to caps on flights and should be provided with incentive
routing. HAI also supports continued testing to set noise standards
and redefine the parameters of natural quiet. The FAA has not
achieved “reasonable achievable requirements” for quiet
technology in the Grand Canyon under Title VIII of the Wendell H.
Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century
(Public Law l06-181) also known as the National Parks Air Tour
Management Act of 2000.
The present curfew hours are arbitrary and
unrelated to times of sunrise and sunset. The morning and evening
hours should be linked to actual sunrise and sunset hours in order
to formulate a fair and reasonable curfew. The primary purpose of
the curfews was to insure that there are no aircraft in the skies
to impair the hiker view of sunrise and sunset at the Canyon.
Most importantly, Congress must take into consideration the post
September 11th effects upon the air tour industry and take steps to
help air tour businesses reach full economic recovery. The present
curfews represent a significant loss of business for the air tour
industry in the Grand Canyon.
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