By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – A group of Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a new environmental review before allowing an Amazon Prime Air drone delivery hub to be located about 30 miles (48.28 km) west of Boston.
Massachusetts Democratic US Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Jim McGovern and Lori Trahan wrote to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford seeking a new review after communities raised concerns about the planned Westborough hub and its impact on the environment and residents’ quality of life, including noise pollution, health and safety, and privacy.
The FAA said it would respond directly to the lawmakers. Amazon did not immediately comment.
Here are more details:
• On September 28, a group of 15 states and a Texas county on Monday sued the FAA over the agency’s environmental review of planned commercial drone package delivery rules.
• The agency in July issued a broad environmental review that allows qualifying drone operators to launch fleets without a site-specific environmental analysis.
• The states — including New York, California, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Michigan — and Harris County, Texas, said the FAA violated the law by failing to adequately analyze the potential environmental impacts of expanded drone package delivery operations.
• Drone delivery operations are already happening in states including California, Texas, Arkansas, Florida and Utah under the waiver process.
• The FAA said last year that eliminating the need for waivers “will significantly expand the use-case for drone technologies in areas like: manufacturing, farming, energy production, filmmaking, and the movement of products including lifesaving medications.”
• The FAA environmental review included reviewing the noise impacts of 1,150 average drone deliveries from a single hub. Drones would depart a hub and travel en route at an altitude of less than 400 feet (121 meters).
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Bill Berkrot)
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