[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3958 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3958
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
publish guidance and implementation procedures for unmanned aircraft
systems with respect to environmental reviews, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 9, 2023
Mr. D'Esposito (for himself and Mr. Stanton) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
publish guidance and implementation procedures for unmanned aircraft
systems with respect to environmental reviews, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW RELATING TO UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.
(a) Guidance Updates.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration shall publish unmanned aircraft system-specific guidance
and implementation procedures. Such guidance and implementation
procedures shall--
(1) provide guidance to streamline environmental
assessments at a programmatic level, as the Administrator
considers appropriate, for an unmanned aircraft system
operator's network of operations within a defined geographical
region, including within and over approved commercial or
industrial sites closed or restricted to the public;
(2) provide guidance for nationwide programmatic approaches
for large scale distributed unmanned aircraft system operations
whereby a Programmatic Environmental Assessment or
Environmental Impact Statement can be leveraged for subsequent
related actions to ensure efficient environmental review;
(3) consider additional Categorical Exclusions based on
previously prepared and finalized Environmental Assessments or
in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality;
(4) prioritize proposed projects or activities that can be
shown to--
(A) offset or limit the impacts of non-zero
emission activities;
(B) offset or limit the release of environmental
pollutants to soil or water; or
(C) contain other factors to the benefit of the
environment as determined by the Administrator;
(5) contain intra-agency process improvements to avoid
providing conflicting safety and environmental feedback to
operators;
(6) contain standards and criteria for engaging specialized
third parties to support the Administration's preparation and
review of documentation relating to the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) to ensure streamlined timelines for complex reviews; and
(7) any other modifications the Administrator considers
necessary within the stated environmental objectives of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and the Federal priority to maintain global leadership in
aviation innovation.
(b) Briefing.--No later than 90 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Administrator shall brief the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the plan of the
Administration to implement subsection (b), including each of the
considerations specified in the subsection, and an explanation for any
consideration the Administrator does not intend to implement.
(c) Concurrent Reviews.--If the Administrator determines that the
review of an unmanned aircraft system's design, construction,
maintenance and operational sustainability, airworthiness approval, or
operational approval requires environmental assessment, including
requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Administrator shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, conduct such reviews and analyses concurrent with one
another.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as prohibiting, restricting or otherwise limiting the
authority of the Secretary of Transportation or the Administrator from
implementing or complying with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and any
related requirements to ensure the protection of the environment and
aviation safety.
(e) Associated UAS Certification Standards.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall develop and
establish substantive criteria and standards metrics used by
the Administrator to determine whether to approve or disapprove
the airworthiness of an unmanned aircraft pursuant to part 36
of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) Substantive criteria and standards metrics.--In
establishing the substantive criteria and standards metrics as
required under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall include
such criteria and metrics related to the airworthiness of
unmanned aircraft for the following:
(A) Noise impacts.
(B) Visual impacts.
(3) Publication.--The Administrator shall publish in the
Federal Register and post on a website of the Federal Aviation
Administration the criteria and metrics established pursuant to
paragraph (1).
(f) Definition of Unmanned Aircraft System.--In this section, the
term ``unmanned aircraft system'' has the meaning given such term in
section 44801 of title 49, United States Code.
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