NAM to FAA: Considerations for Final Drone Framework Rulemaking

A recently proposed rule from the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a framework for restricting unauthorized drone operations near certain fixed-site facilities would protect critical infrastructure while preserving the right to legitimate drone operations, the NAM told the administration this month.

What’s going on: Last week, the NAM voiced support for a draft FAA rulemaking that would establish a process whereby the owners and operators of certain critical infrastructure facilities can request restriction of unmanned aircraft over or near them.

• ”Unauthorized UAS operations in close proximity to these facilities may create credible risks, including disruption of the delivery of critical services like energy and water, fire hazards, interference with industrial equipment and operations, disruption of environmental management systems and unauthorized surveillance of sensitive infrastructure and processes,” the NAM told the FAA last Wednesday.

What should be done: As the FAA finalizes the proposal, there are several steps it should take to “ensure the framework remains risk-based, operationally practical and sufficiently flexible to support future technological innovation,” the NAM said. These include:

• Targeting drone restrictions to “facilities that present legitimate security and safety concerns”
• Implementing a consequence-based framework for evaluating facility eligibility
• Expanding the lateral boundaries beyond property lines when warranted by facility-specific safety, security and operational considerations
• Ensuring facilities receiving unmanned aircraft flight restrictions retain the ability to conduct authorized UAS operations that support facility safety and operations, including inspections, monitoring, security and emergency response
• Minimizing unnecessary administrative burdens and ensuring facility operators are not required to assume ongoing airspace management responsibilities or costs
• Maintaining a technology-neutral regulatory framework that can accommodate evolving UAS technologies

The last word: Manufacturers appreciate and support the rulemaking, the NAM said, and ask that in finalizing it, the FAA ensure manufacturers maintain “the ability to conduct authorized operations, including activities conducted by facility personnel, approved contractors, emergency response teams and other authorized operators.”