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The Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD), formerly the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD), joined the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) in sending a letter to U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) urging the Committee to tie important conditions to the authority to allow the transport of hazardous materials by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization.
In the letter, the organizations call for the full implementation of section 2209 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016, which would allow critical infrastructure facilities, including chemical facilities, to petition the FAA to restrict or prohibit the operation of UAS in close proximity to their facilities. If authority for UAS carriage of hazardous materials is granted via FAA reauthorization without the implementation of section 2209, chemical manufacturing, storage, and distribution facilities will be put at risk.
“While progress towards implementing Section 2209 has occurred, the FAA has not issued a final rule, and currently, fixed-site operators have little authority to prohibit UAS incursions at their facilities,” the letter states. “We strongly urge the Committee to not authorize Hazardous Materials Carriage by UAS before a final rule implementing Section 2209 is filed.”
The letter continues, “The risks to our facilities of overflights of hazardous materials by UAS are considerable. If new authority is given to UAS operators to transport even small quantities of hazardous materials before the FAA finalizes a Section 2209 rulemaking, our facilities will be put at even greater risk. As you consider granting new authorities to UAS operators to transport these materials (as granted in Section 617 of H.R.3935 and Section 816 of S.1939), we urge you to tie any new authorities to the completion of a final Section 2209 rulemaking.”
To read the full letter, click here.