The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed new rules for designating certain facilities off limits to drones and other unmanned aircraft, an effort to address concerns about security amid a proliferation of drone activity.
The proposed rule sets up a process by which operators of “critical infrastructure” sites — a term potentially spanning everything from oil refineries to government facilities to amusement parks — could apply for unmanned flight restrictions, setting up a “virtual no trespassing sign” in the airspace above them.
Sites seeking such a designation on a permanent or part-time basis would have to demonstrate that the flight restrictions are “necessary for aviation safety, protection of people and property on the ground, national security, or homeland security,” according to the document.
The 181-page proposal, which Congress requested from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2016, is years overdue and not yet final. Beginning on Wednesday, the public will have 60 days to comment on it.
But it comes amid intense scrutiny of how the federal government is countering rogue drone activity, as the drone industry, eager to expand its operations, is seeking clarity from the F.A.A. about when and how unmanned aircraft can operate.
“This long-awaited proposal reflects an important milestone in creating a comprehensive framework for safe, scalable commercial operations while protecting our nation’s sensitive fixed sites from unauthorized drones,” Lisa Ellman, the chief executive of the Commercial Drone Alliance, said in a statement.
The Trump administration has made a point of pursuing “drone dominance,” an objective the president outlined in an executive order last year that said the United States “must accelerate the safe commercialization of drone technologies and fully integrate” them into the national airspace. But the federal government has not established comprehensive rules for what “safe” unmanned operations would look like.
Much of the industry’s focus has been on a parallel federal process to regulate when and how drones can fly beyond an operator’s line of sight. That rule, which is still being finalized, is seen as critical to expanding commercial drone operations.
Tuesday’s proposed rule includes anecdotes and scenarios involving rogue drones that have been or could be threats to sites that are considered “critical infrastructure.” They include incidents where drones were used to smuggle contraband into state prisons, and concerns about open-air stadiums that host frequent concerts or games, and drones operating near amusement parks that could strike rides.
The rule also establishes a separate category of “special” flight restrictions that would apply to sensitive federal sites and their affiliates.
The rule does not address how law enforcement agencies would be able to conduct counter-drone operations.
Instead, the document states, the threat of civil or criminal penalties for violating protected airspace would encourage lawful drone operators to steer clear of designated facilities, letting their managers and the law enforcement and security agencies protecting them focus on rogue drones more likely to pose actual threats.
