Mayor Kerry Thomson

Page last updated on August 28, 2020 at 2:20 pm

City of Bloomington Citywide Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Policy

Version

1.10 04/21/2020

Purpose and Scope

The following UAV Policy applies to all City Departments, employees and City contractors participating in the City’s UAV program.

The City of Bloomington (“City”) is dedicated to embracing technologies that help improve its services while protecting the privacy and safety of its residents. The use of UAVs in the public interest is expected to benefit residents and visitors to the City through the more efficient use of City resources. The term “UAV” means an unoccupied aircraft flown via a ground control system, or autonomously through use of an on-board computer, communication links or any other additional equipment.

This UAV Policy (“Policy”) is intended to guide users of UAVs owned by the City or operated on behalf of the City. This Policy is subject to a one-year evaluation period. After the evaluation period, representatives from the Mayor’s Office, Legal/Risk and Information & Technology Services (ITS) will review the UAV programs of all participating departments and provide recommendations on revisions to this Policy, as necessary.

Policy Statement

This policy must be reviewed and signed by all UAV operators in participating departments and by any individuals with access to UAV data that may contain Personal Identifiable Information. Engaging in the unauthorized use of UAVs or activities that are inconsistent with this Policy may subject an employee to discipline, up to and including termination of employment as well as applicable monetary fines and penalties. A contractor who operates a UAV on behalf of the City in violation of this policy may be found to have materially breached its contract and may also be subject to applicable monetary fines and penalties.

Participating Departments may adopt their own standard operating guidelines and general orders that reflect the requirements iterated in this document. Operators shall comply with all applicable laws, including not using UAVs to interfere with law enforcement or first responders and not using UAVs for any illegal, harassing or invasive purpose.

Authorized Use Cases

The authorized use of UAVs is limited to the following Departments and uses:

Authorized Departments

Police, Fire, Utilities, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Planning & Transportation, Mayor’s Office, Information & Technology Services, HAND, ESD, Legal/Risk.

Authorized Use Cases

Construction Management

  • Inspection of project sites for contract and environmental compliance.

Disaster Response and Recovery

  • Inspection of properties, facilities, and assets during and after disasters; Damage assessment & District surveys.

Environmental Monitoring and Documentation

  • Vegetation type and health, wildlife, streams/reservoirs.
  • Flora and fauna type and health, spills and leaks, erosion.

Emergency Response

  • Building Fire and Post-Fire Reconnaissance.

Inspections

  • Surveys and assessments of City properties, facilities, and assets.
  • Surveys and assessments of development sites, road improvements, traffic conditions and erosion control.
  • Surveys and assessments for code compliance.
  • Risk-related surveys, assessments, and audits.
  • Traffic conditions assessment and management.

Mapping

  • Aerial photography for feature mapping, land use mapping, geospatial analysis, digital elevation models, contours & 3D Models.
  • Accident Reconstruction.

Marketing and Documentation

  • Capture videos and still photographs. 

Search & Rescue

  • Aerial UAVs.

Training

  • Preplanning, assessment and evaluation of emergency response operations.

Law Enforcement and Warrants

  • Crime scene documentation.
  • For any purpose for which a court has issued a warrant.

Requirements

The privacy and safety of Bloomington residents, businesses, and visitors are the top priorities of this Policy. 

Every operator of a City UAV must have completed an FAA approved training program and must have a current remote pilot certificate with a sUAV (small Unmanned Aircraft System) rating issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before operating a City UAV. The operator must file a copy of the certificate with the City’s Information and Technology Services Department (ITS), and must have the certificate easily accessible whenever operating a City UAV. The City retains the right to require additional training to make operators aware of changes in policy, legal requirements or equipment. 

To review Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) requirements for the registration and use of UAVs by the City, please refer to: https://www.faa.gov/uas/.

Specifications and Testing

Each City UAV must have a global positioning system. The software and/or firmware used to operate the UAV must be up to date and maintained.

Before operating a City UAV, the operator must conduct a thorough check of the UAV in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, making sure that it is airworthy, including insuring that it has sufficient power, that the links are functioning, that any object connected to the UAV is securely connected, etc. If the operator finds any safety-related issue, the operator shall not fly the UAV and shall report the issue to ITS.

Requirements and Prohibitions

The following provisions are derived from FAA guidelines and reiterated here. While every effort will be made to keep this policy current, it is the operator’s responsibility to keep informed of changes to FAA guidelines and to comply fully with them.

  • Unless the operator has a Part 107 FAA certificate, the operator may not fly higher than 400 feet when in uncontrolled or Class G airspace, except as permitted below.
  • Operators may not fly in controlled airspace without written FAA authorization or a waiver appropriate to their certification. Controlled airspace currently includes any area within five miles of the Monroe County Airport.  
  • Operators shall not fly UAVs, or conduct surveillance or photograph people, in areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
  • Operators may not fly UAVs directly over people who are not under a safe cover, except for people involved with the operations of the UAV.
  • Operators may not fly UAVs directly over moving vehicles.
  • Operators shall keep UAVs in view without visual aids such as binoculars; however, corrective lenses such as prescription glasses or contacts are permitted. 
  • Operators shall yield to manned aircraft.
  • Operators shall not fly UAVs in any adverse weather conditions, such as high winds or reduced visibility.
  • Operators shall not fly UAVs when visibility is less than three miles or the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet.
  • Operators shall not fly UAVs faster than ground speed of 87 knots (100 miles per hour).
  • Operators shall not fly UAVs higher than 400 feet above ground level (AGL) in uncontrolled airspace, unless the UAV is being flown within a 400-foot radius of a structure, and then not higher than 400 feet above the structure’s immediate uppermost limit. Operators shall adhere to the FAA Authorization and/or Waiver altitude limits when operating a UAV in controlled airspace.
  • Operators shall fly UAVs only during daylight hours defined as between sunrise and sunset. Operations during civil twilight, beginning 30 minutes before sunrise and ending 30 minutes after sunset, are permitted with the use of on-board anti-collision lights.
  • UAVs may not be operated from a moving landborne or waterborne vehicle unless the driver is not involved in the operation of the UAV and the UAV is flown in a sparsely populated area. 
  • Operators shall immediately report any problems concerning flights of City UAVs, including damage to the vehicle or to other property or to people, and complaints about UAV usage from members of the public, to the City’s Legal Risk Management division.

However, where the City or an eligible Department obtains a waiver from the FAA, it may deviate from the above-listed requirements to the extent permitted by the waiver.

Privacy, Data Security and Retention

Departments must have an authorized purpose to collect information using a UAV or use UAV-collected information.

The City is required to retain the raw, unprocessed UAV data for thirty days pursuant to rules established by the Indiana Archives and Records Administration. Raw, unprocessed data will be discarded after thirty days. The City will restrict access to any raw UAV footage it retains to authorized staff. Departments may not exchange raw, unprocessed UAV-collected data with other departments or disclose such data to the public except for (1) exigent public safety needs, (2) with the approval of ITS, or (3) as required by law. Operators shall download all UAV data at the completion of each flight, along with the date, time and location of the flight and the name of the operator(s). All such data are the sole property of the City and may not be used by City employees or any other persons for any non-City purpose.

UAV data shall include, but are not limited to, video footage, audio footage, still images, sensor data, geospatial location data, metadata and other digital files. Personal Identified information (PII) shown in UAV data will be obscured before such data is made public. 

Definitions

Personal Identifiable Information (PII)

Information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. 

Raw UAV Data 

Information collected by a City UAV that has not been processed. The distribution and use of raw UAV data is tightly restricted. 

Questions

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the employee's supervisor or to ITS. Questions about applicable laws governing the use of UAVs or issues related to privacy should be directed to the Legal Department.

Compliance 

A City employee who operates a City UAV in violation of this policy or in violation of applicable laws and regulations governing the operation of UAVs shall be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.

City employees may need to reserve a UAV prior to flight operations. All City UAV operators must submit a UAV Reservation Request Form at https://forms.gle/i91XGsprvieaKuuw6 at least 72 hours prior to flight activities if possible. It is understood that some uses may be more time sensitive.

All City UAV operators must submit flight logs and documentation no more than 72 hours after the conclusion of flight activities to the City’s Open Data Portal using the Flight Information Log Form: https://goo.gl/forms/R09cSWlYQVVnNqK13.