STUDY OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION ACCESS TO CERTAIN RESTRICTED SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE

SEC. 1467. STUDY OF COMMERCIAL AVIATION ACCESS TO CERTAIN RESTRICTED SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE (a) Study Required.— The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a joint study to determine the feasibility of permitting civilian commercial aircraft to have access to restricted special use airspace over the coastal waters of the mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern United States for the purpose of enhancing commercial aviation safety, improving air traffic control efficiency, and reducing the impact of aviation noise on populated areas. (b) Report.— (1) The Secretaries shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives a joint report containing the results of the study required by subsection (a), together with such comments and recommendations as the Secretaries consider appropriate. The report may be submitted in both classified and unclassified form. (2) The Secretaries shall include in the report the following: (A) A discussion of the current policy of the Department of Defense regarding civilian commercial access to restricted special use airspace. (B) An accounting of civilian commercial aircraft access to such special use airspace during each of the years 1988 and 1989. (C) A summary of requests received by the Department of Defense from the Federal Aviation Administration for increased access to the special use airspace referred to in subsection (a) and the disposition of those requests by the Department of Defense. (D) Proposals for permitting increased access to such special use airspace, particularly during daylight hours, by civilian commercial aircraft. (E) An analysis of the feasibility of providing such access. (3) The report shall be submitted not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Development of Procedures.— If the Secretaries determine, on the basis of the study under subsection (a), that additional access to the special use airspace described in that subsection can be permitted, consistent with the national security interests of the United States, the Secretary of Defense shall develop, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, procedures for providing such additional access for civilian commercial aircraft to such airspace.