Remote Identification: What’s Next for Local Government Owners/Operators of Critical Infrastructure?
In our first posting of 2020, we covered the FAA’s Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems notice of proposed rulemaking and promised that we would be blogging on the impacts of the proposed new rule. This is the third of a series of postings as to the significance of the proposed new rule.
Imagine you are the General Manager of a water district. For weeks, there has been a drone buzzing over a dam and hydro-electric generation facility under your control. You don’t know who is operating the drone or what the purpose of the flight is. Or imagine you are a Fire Chief whose safety operations have consistently been interrupted by drones operated from unknown locations. You know there are technologies available to identify drones and take them down, but your lawyer has been reading this blog and tells you that most are probably illegal.
Enter the remote identification rulemaking.
With remote identification, drones themselves will make it easier for effective use of the kinds of passive detection methods that do not raise legal issues. The first step in regulating drone use is to know who is using the drone and from where. The remote identification rulemaking will make this first step possible. But important enforcement questions remain. The remote identification rulemaking needs clarification as to how local government can access and use the remote identification information broadcast or transmitted by the drone. More important, federal preemption issues remain unclear, making it difficult for a local agency to enact drone regulations that it can enforce.