Feds Ban Drone Flights Over Multiple NJ Towns: See Where

NEW JERSEY — The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary ban on drone flights over 22 New Jersey towns until mid-January, the agency announced overnight.

The temporary flight restrictions were issued for "special security reasons," the FAA said, and will be in place until Jan. 17. The flight restriction notices did not elaborate on the special security reasons.

The sites covered by the airspace restrictions include the Salem Nuclear Plant, the area around Red Bull Arena in Harrison and the Balzano Marine Terminal in Camden where the Battleship New Jersey is docked. Several of the bans are near electric power substations, and some are near key shipping and transportation, such as the container yards and port in Kearny.

The restrictions come after weeks of reports about drone flights all over New Jersey, including sightings over two military installations, Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County and Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County.

Under the temporary flight restrictions, no drones — also called unmanned aircraft systems — are authorized except under special circumstances, including ones being flown by law enforcement or in support of "an act of national defense, homeland security, firefighting, or a disaster response mission," and commercial drones with a valid statement of work. Drone pilots must have a special governmental interest airspace waiver and comply with all other federal aviation regulations, the FAA notice said.

The restrictions come two days after a joint statement from the FAA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI said authorities had not "identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast."

The statement said the FBI had received more than 5,000 tips with about 100 generating leads, and had determined after closely examining the technical data "that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones."

Federal authorities sent advanced detection technology and trained observers in response to the ongoing concerns.

"We recognize the concern among many communities," the statement said. "We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement. We urge Congress to enact counter-UAS legislation when it reconvenes that would extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities to identify and mitigate any threat that may emerge."

Federal authorities said drones flying over military facilities are not new and the Defense Department "coordinates closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, as appropriate. Local commanders are actively engaged to ensure there are appropriate detection and mitigation measures in place."

Drones are banned from the airspace over the following areas, with the restrictions covering from the ground to 400 feet of altitude:

• Hamilton
• Bridgewater
• Cedar Grove
• North Brunswick
• Metuchen
• Evesham
• Camden
• Gloucester City
• Westampton
• South Brunswick
• Edison
• Branchburg
• Sewaren
• Jersey City
• Harrison
• Elizabeth
• Bayonne
• Winslow
• Burlington
• Clifton
• Hancocks Bridge
• Kearny

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