49 U.S.C. § 44718: Structures interfering with air commerce or national security

safety in air commerce; the efficient use and preservation of the navigable airspace and of airport traffic capacity at public-use airports; or the interests of national security, as determined by the Secretary of Defense. the impact on arrival, departure, and en route procedures for aircraft operating under visual flight rules; the impact on arrival, departure, and en route procedures for aircraft operating under instrument flight rules; the impact on existing public-use airports and aeronautical facilities; the impact on planned public-use airports and aeronautical facilities; the cumulative impact resulting from the proposed construction or alteration of a structure when combined with the impact of other existing or proposed structures; the impact on launch and reentry for launch and reentry vehicles arriving or departing from a launch site or reentry site licensed by the Secretary of Transportation; and other factors relevant to the efficient and effective use of navigable airspace; and include the finding made by the Secretary of Defense under subsection (f). adverse impact on the safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace that the Secretary finds will result from constructing or altering the structure; and unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States, as determined by the Secretary of Defense under subsection (f). A determination by the Secretary of Transportation on hazard to air navigation under this section shall remain independent of a determination of unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States by the Secretary of Defense under subsection (f). the receipt and consideration of, and action on, the application; and the completion of any associated aeronautical study. No person shall construct or establish a municipal solid waste landfill (as defined in section 258.2 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this subsection) that receives putrescible waste (as defined in section 257.3–8 of such title) within 6 miles of a public airport that has received grants under chapter 471 and is primarily served by general aviation aircraft and regularly scheduled flights of aircraft designed for 60 passengers or less unless the State aviation agency of the State in which the airport is located requests that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration exempt the landfill from the application of this subsection and the Administrator determines that such exemption would have no adverse impact on aviation safety. Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the State of Alaska and shall not apply to the construction, establishment, expansion, or modification of, or to any other activity undertaken with respect to, a municipal solid waste landfill if the construction or establishment of the landfill was commenced on or before the date of the enactment of this subsection. The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall develop procedures to allow the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to review and comment on an aeronautical study conducted pursuant to subsection (b) prior to the completion of the study. make a finding on whether the construction, alteration, establishment, or expansion of a structure or sanitary landfill included in the study would result in an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States; and transmit the finding to the Secretary of Transportation for inclusion in the report required under subsection (b)(2). In the case of a proposed structure to be located within a geographic area identified under section 183a(d)(2)(B) of title 10 , the Secretary of Transportation may not issue a determination pursuant to this section until the Secretary of Defense issues a finding under section 183a(e) of title 10 , the Secretary of Defense advises the Secretary of Transportation that no finding under section 183a(e) of title 10 will be forthcoming, or 180 days have lapsed since the project was filed with the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to this section, whichever occurs first. In this section, the terms “adverse impact on military operations and readiness” and “unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States” have the meaning given those terms in section 183a(h) of title 10 . Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [ May 16, 2024 ], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement section 2110 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 [ Pub. L. 114–190 ] ( 49 U.S.C. 44718 note). the reasons that the Administrator has failed to issue the rulemaking; and a list of fatal aircraft accidents associated with unmarked towers that have occurred during the 5-year period preceding the date of submission of the report.” The accumulation and spacing of structures or other obstructions that might constrain radar or communication capabilities, thereby reducing the capacity of an airport, flight procedure minimums or availability, or aircraft takeoff or landing capabilities. Safety risks of lasers, lights, or light sources, inclusive of lighted billboards and screens, affixed to structures, that may pose hazards to air navigation. Water features or hazardous wildlife attractants, as defined by the Administrator. Impacts to visual flight rule traffic patterns for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft, inclusive of special visual flight rule procedures established by Letters of Agreement between air traffic facilities, the airport, and flight operators. Impacts to FAA-funded airport improvement projects, improvements depicted on or described in FAA-approved Airport Layout Plans and master plans, and preservation of the navigable airspace necessary for achieving the objectives and utilization of the projects and plans. Actual designs of an entire project and property, without regard to whether a proposed construction or alteration within 3 miles of the end of a runway of an airport and runway centerlines as depicted in the FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan of the airport is limited to a singular location on a property. If there are any changes to such designs or addition of equipment, such as cranes used to construct a building, after submission of such a notice, all information included with the notice submitted before such change or addition shall be resubmitted, along with information regarding the change or addition. Unless extended, revised, or terminated, each determination of no hazard issued by the Administrator under part 77 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, shall expire 18 months after the effective date of the determination, or on the date the proposed construction or alteration is abandoned, whichever is earlier. Determinations under paragraph (1) are no longer valid with regard to whether a proposed construction or alteration would be a hazard to air navigation after such determination has expired. The Administrator may develop a single set of One Engine Inoperative surface criteria that is specific to an airport. The Administrator shall consult with the airport operator and flight operators that use such airport, on the development of such surface criteria. Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [ May 16, 2024 ], the Administrator shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] regarding the status of the efforts of the FAA to protect One Engine Inoperative surfaces from encroachment at United States certificated and federally obligated airports, including the current status of efforts to incorporate such protections into FAA Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Analysis processes. The Administrator may consult with other Federal, State, or local agencies as necessary to carry out the requirements of this section. This section shall only apply to an airport in a county adjacent to 2 States with converging intersecting cross runway operations within 12 nautical miles of an Air Force base.” clearly marked consistent with applicable guidance in the advisory circular of the FAA issued December 4, 2015 (AC 70/7460-IL); or included in the database described in subsection (c). A covered tower that is a meteorological evaluation tower shall be subject to the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1). is a meteorological evaluation tower, a self-standing tower, or [a] tower supported by guy wires and ground anchors; is 10 feet or less in diameter at the above-ground base, excluding concrete footing; at the highest point of the structure is at least 50 feet above ground level; at the highest point of the structure is not more than 200 feet above ground level; has accessory facilities on which an antenna, sensor, camera, meteorological instrument, or other equipment is mounted; and in a rural area; and used for agricultural purposes or immediately adjacent to such land. is adjacent to a house, barn, electric utility station, or other building; is within the curtilage of a farmstead or adjacent to another building or visible structure; supports electric utility transmission or distribution lines; is a wind-powered electrical generator with a rotor blade radius that exceeds 6 feet; is a street light erected or maintained by a Federal, State, local, or tribal entity; is designed and constructed to resemble a tree or visible structure other than a tower; is an advertising billboard; is located within the right-of-way of a rail carrier, including within the boundaries of a rail yard, and is used for a railroad purpose; is registered with the Federal Communications Commission under the Antenna Structure Registration program set forth under part 17 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations; and is determined by the Administrator to pose no hazard to air navigation; or has already mitigated any hazard to aviation safety in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration guidance or as otherwise approved by the Administrator. The term ‘rural area’ has the meaning given the term in section 609(a)(5) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 ( 7 U.S.C. 918c(a)(5) ). The term ‘agricultural purposes’ means farming in all its branches and the cultivation and tillage of the soil, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities performed by a farmer or on a farm, or on pasture land or rangeland. The Administrator shall define such other terms as may be necessary to carry out this section. develop a new database, or if appropriate use an existing database that meets the requirements under this section, that contains the location and height of each covered tower that, pursuant to subsection (a), the owner or operator of such tower elects not to mark (unless the Administrator has determined that there is a significant safety risk requiring that the tower be marked), except that meteorological evaluation towers shall be marked and contained in the database; keep the database current to the extent practicable; ensure that any proprietary information in the database is protected from disclosure in accordance with law; may only be used for aviation safety purposes; and may not be disclosed for purposes other than aviation safety, regardless of whether or not the information is marked or labeled as proprietary or with a similar designation; ensure that the tower information in the database is de-identified and that the information only includes the location and height of covered towers and whether the tower has guy wires; ensure that information in the dataset is encrypted at rest and in transit and is protected from unauthorized access and acquisition; ensure that towers excluded from the definition of covered tower under subsection (d)(1)(B)(ii)(VIII) must be registered by its owner in the database; ensure that a tower to be included in the database pursuant to subsection (c)(1) and constructed after the date on which the database is fully operational is submitted by its owner to the FAA for inclusion in the database before its construction; ensure that pilots who intend to conduct low-altitude operations in locations described in subsection (b)(1)(A)(i)(VI) consult the relevant parts of the database before conducting such operations; and make the database available for use not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 [ Oct. 5, 2018 ]. may exclude a class, category, or type of tower that is determined by the Administrator, after public notice and comment, to not pose a hazard to aviation safety; shall establish a process to waive specific covered towers from the marking requirements under this section as required under the rulemaking if the Administrator later determines such tower or towers do not pose a hazard to aviation safety; shall consider, in establishing exclusions and granting waivers under this subsection, factors that may sufficiently mitigate risks to aviation safety, such as the length of time the tower has been in existence or alternative marking methods or technologies that maintains a tower’s level of conspicuousness to a degree which adequately maintains the safety of the airspace; and shall consider excluding towers located in a State that has enacted tower marking requirements according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s recommended guidance for the voluntary marking of meteorological evaluation towers erected in remote and rural areas that are less than 200 feet above ground level to enhance the conspicuity of the towers for low level agricultural operations in the vicinity of those towers. The Administrator shall, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, periodically review any regulations or guidance regarding the marking of covered towers issued pursuant to this section and update them as necessary, consistent with this section, and in the interest of safety of low-altitude aircraft operations. The Federal Communications Commission shall amend section 17.7 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, to require a notification to the Federal Aviation Administration for any construction or alteration of an antenna structure, as defined in section 17.2(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, that is a covered tower as defined by this section.” collisions between aircraft and birds have resulted in fatal accidents; bird strikes pose a special danger to smaller aircraft; landfills near airports pose a potential hazard to aircraft operating there because they attract birds; even if the landfill is not located in the approach path of the airport’s runway, it still poses a hazard because of the birds’ ability to fly away from the landfill and into the path of oncoming planes; while certain mileage limits have the potential to be arbitrary, keeping landfills at least 6 miles away from an airport, especially an airport served by small planes, is an appropriate minimum requirement for aviation safety; and closure of existing landfills (due to concerns about aviation safety) should be avoided because of the likely disruption to those who use and depend on such landfills.”