Hogan Lovells Publications | Energy Alert | 18 March 2016

Taking to the Air: Using Drones to Ensure Regulatory Compliance for Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines and Other Critical Infrastructure Owners and Operators

Energy companies that operate critical infrastructure face regulatory challenges on a daily basis as they strive to provide effective and efficient service safely. Congress may make some of these regulatory challenges less burdensome by lifting restrictions on the use of drones to monitor their assets. UAVs for Energy Infrastructure Act (S.2684), sponsored by Senator Jim Inhofe and introduced on March 15, 2016, would enable critical infrastructure operators to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or so-called drones) to comply with existing federal regulations, as well as to respond to an emergency, natural disaster or severe weather event. Specifically, the bill would allow the use of a drone to conduct any activity already allowed to be accomplished with manned aircraft. Senator Inhofe plans to include the bill in the FAA authorization legislation.

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