FAA restricts drone operations over Department of Energy facilities

At the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies, the FAA has restricted drone operations over seven Department of Energy (DOE) facilities.

The FAA and DOE have agreed to restrict drone flights up to 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of these sites:

• Hanford Site, Franklin County, Washington;
• Pantex Site, Panhandle, Texas;
• Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M.;
• Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho;
• Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, S.C.;
• Y-12 National Security Site, Oak Ridge, Tennessee;
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The airspace restrictions are shown in an FAA Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) and the details about where drone flights are restricted are available at UAS-FAA.OpenData.arcgis.com.

These UAS National Security restrictions are pending until they become effective Dec. 29, 2017, FAA officials note.

There are only a few exceptions that permit drone flights within these restrictions, and they must be coordinated with the individual facility and/or the FAA, officials add.

This is the first time the agency has placed specific airspace restrictions for unmanned aircraft over DOE sites. The FAA has placed similar airspace restrictions over military bases that currently remain in place, as well as UAS flight restrictions over 10 Department of Interior facilities, including several large dams and iconic landmarks.

The FAA is considering additional requests from other federal security agencies for restrictions to support national security and defense, as they are received, officials concluded.

To ensure the public is aware of these restricted locations, the FAA has created an interactive map online. The link to these restrictions is also included in the FAA’s B4UFLYmobile app. The app will be updated within 60 days to reflect these airspace restrictions. Additional information, including frequently asked questions, is available on the FAA’s UAS website.

Operators who violate the airspace restrictions may be subject to enforcement action, including potential civil penalties and criminal charges.

The text of the NOTAM is as follows:

FDC 7/6429 FDC SECURITY SPECIAL SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (UAS) OPERATIONS FOR MULTIPLE LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE. THIS NOTAM SUPPLEMENTS THE UAS-SPECIFIC SPECIAL SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS DEFINED BY FDC 7/7282 AND IMPLEMENTED PURSUANT 14 C.F.R. 99.7 AND HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO AIRSPACE OVER ADDITIONAL NATIONAL SECURITY SENSITIVE FACILITIES. THE UPDATED LIST OF AFFECTED AIRSPACE AND ASSOCIATED PROTECTED LOCATIONS, AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION ARE PROVIDED AT THE FOLLOWING FAA WEBSITE: UAS.FAA.OPENDATA.ARCGIS.COM. SEE FDC 7/7282 FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION ON THESE SPECIAL SECURITY INSTRUCTIONS. 1712290001-1902012359.