The Trump Administration is making moves to establish a coherent federal policy governing the use of drones in delivery applications, according to the political blog Politico. The report notes that a presidential memorandum, issued Wednesday, Oct. 25th, directs the Department of Transportation to establish a pilot program inviting state and local governments, in partnership with private entities, to enter into agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration for sweeping waivers of current regulations on activities like flying at night and over people.
Politco says DOT has six months to enter into at least five agreements pertaining to delivery drone operation, and the program is set to last three years. The information gathered from local and state experiments with drone operations will inform future regulatory actions, but the report notes, FAA has been clear that it thinks state and local participation will be necessary for the foreseeable future. The memorandum allows for proposals for drone operations up to 200 feet above ground or even 400 feet where appropriate. More details will come in a federal register notice in the coming days or weeks.
Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.), who had previously proposed a similar program, said the pilot should go even further in allowing states and municipalities to set restrictions on drone flights. “Amazon wants to take that delivery right down your avenue on Sunday morning,” Lewis told POLITICO. “The question is, who should decide that?”
Additionally, Politico reports, FAA is looking for applications submitted jointly from a state or municipality and a private entity for a specific program. Ideally, the applications would be from “a commercial operation or first responder operation or, quite frankly, anything innovative that a community would want to employ and partner with a private entity to conduct,” according to a DOT official cited by Politico. This move is part of an effort on the part of the FAA to learn how potential operators plan to use drones without being a nuisance for people on the ground. Concerns about drones used for snooping in private areas will be addresses as well.
Brian Wynne, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International told Politico, the policy move would “provide a mechanism for state, local and tribal officials to contribute their views to [a drone] policy framework, without infringing on the U.S. government’s jurisdiction over the national airspace.”
Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) also told Politico said the program “will influence the policy discussions underway in Congress and among regulators.”
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