The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”)
announced on September 28, 2017, that at
the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies, it is using its existing authority under Title 14
of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) §99.7, entitled “Special Security Instructions” – to address
concerns about unauthorized drone operations over ten (10) U.S. Department of the Interior (“DOI”)
sites, including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and four (4) U.S. dams.
The FAA and DOI have agreed to
restrict drone flights up to 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of the following
sites:
- Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, NY
- Boston National Historical Park (U.S.S. Constitution), Boston, MA
- Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
- Folsom Dam; Folsom, CA
- Glen Canyon Dam; Lake Powell, AZ
- Grand Coulee Dam; Grand Coulee, WA
- Hoover Dam; Boulder City, NV
- Jefferson National Expansion Memorial; St. Louis, MO
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial; Keystone, SD
- Shasta Dam; Shasta Lake, CA
The restrictions became effective on
October 5, 2017. 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.
Operators who violate the airspace
restrictions may be subject to enforcement action, including potential civil
penalties and criminal charges.
This is the first time the agency
has placed airspace restrictions for unmanned aircraft, or “drones,” over DOI
landmarks. The FAA has placed similar airspace restrictions over military bases
that currently remain in place. See http://uas-faa.opendata.arcgis.com/
The FAA is considering additional
requests from other federal agencies for restrictions using the FAA’s § 99.7
authority as they are received.
All of the above sites are managed
by the National Park Service directly or, in the case of the four dams, managed
by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, whose parent agency is the U.S. Department
of the Interior.
