07/20/2016
Yet-to-be-developed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA[1]) rules stemming
from the recent passage in Congress of H.R. 636[2], the FAA Reauthorization
Act, could pose additional marking requirements for a small number of Amateur
Radio towers. The bill instructs the FAA to enact rules similar to state-level
statutes now in place that are aimed at improving aircraft safety in the
vicinity of meteorological evaluation towers (METs) set up in rural areas. In
the wake of fatal crop dusting aircraft collisions with METs, often erected on
short notice, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended in
2013 that states enact laws - sometimes called "crop duster" statutes -
requiring marking and registration of METs. While some state crop duster laws
exempt ham radio towers, the federal legislation does not. ARRL General Counsel
Chris Imlay, W3KD, said, however, that the list of exemptions in the federal
legislation restricts application of the new rules to a very small subset of
Amateur Radio towers.
"The FAA Reauthorization Act has very little application to Amateur Radio
antennas. We will have a good opportunity to address the final FAA rules
through the normal rulemaking process," Imlay said. "We'll be meeting soon with
FAA officials to learn their intentions as well as to advance our own concerns
to the agency. Uniform federal regulation is beneficial to hams, because it
eliminates a patchwork of state statutes that can impose significant
constraints on ham antennas in rural and agricultural areas."
The FAA Reauthorization Act gives the FAA 1 year to issue regulations requiring
the marking of towers covered by the new legislation. Marking of towers covered
by the legislation will be in the form of painting and lighting in accordance
with current FAA guidelines.
The law covers towers that are "self-standing or supported by guy wires and
ground anchors;" are 10 feet or less in diameter at the above-ground base,
excluding concrete footings; are between 50 feet above ground level at the
highest point and not more than 200 feet above ground level; have accessory
facilities on which an antenna, sensor, camera, meteorological instrument, or
other equipment is mounted, and are located outside the boundaries of an
incorporated city or town or on land that is undeveloped or used for
agricultural purposes.
Imlay said the law excludes towers erected adjacent to a house, barn, electric
utility station, or other building, or within the curtilage (enclosed area
occupied by a dwelling, grounds, and outbuildings) of a farmstead, among other
exclusions. He said "undeveloped" land refers to a defined geographical area
where the FAA determines that low-flying aircraft routinely operate, such as
forested areas with predominant tree cover below 200 fee, and pasture and range
land.
The FAA will develop a database containing the location and height of each
covered tower, but Imlay noted that the database contents may only be disclosed
for purposes involving aviation safety.
"We do not anticipate that a significant number of Amateur Radio antennas will
be subject to these rules," Imlay said, "but we need to monitor the FAA
rulemaking process carefully to head off requirements that could put the cost
of installing and maintaining affected structures out of any reasonable
reach."
[1] http://www.faa.gov/
[2] https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/636
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