Public Involvement and Environmental Review for Drone Operations

In 2012, Congress first charged the FAA with integrating unmanned aircraft—commonly referred to as drones—into the National Airspace System (NAS). The FAA has engaged in a phased, incremental approach to integrating drones into the NAS and continues to work toward full integration of drones into the NAS. From 2017 through 2020, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program focused on testing and evaluating the integration of drone operations into the NAS. This work continues under the UAS BEYOND program which focuses on the remaining challenges of UAS integration, including beyond visual line of sight operations, societal and economic benefits of UAS operations, and community engagement.

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Environmental Review

Signed into law on January 1, 1970, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the United States’ basic national charter for protection of the environment. NEPA is a procedural law that requires the FAA to consider environmental impacts of its actions in decision making. NEPA does not impose any limits, prohibit certain kinds of actions, or mandate a particular outcome.

NEPA established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) within the Executive Office of the President to ensure federal agencies meet their obligations under NEPA. CEQ oversees NEPA implementation, principally through issuing guidance and regulations that implement NEPA’s procedural requirements. The FAA’s policies and procedures for compliance with NEPA and CEQ’s regulations are contained in FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures.

NEPA applies to major federal actions, which are essentially any activity or decision subject to federal control and responsibility. NEPA reviews must be completed for actions that could cause reasonably foreseeable effects on the human environment, whether the actions are taken by the agency itself, or the actions are taken by airspace users seeking FAA authorization. There are three levels of NEPA review:

  1. Categorical Exclusion (CATEX)

    CATEX means a category of actions that an agency has determined normally does not have a
    significant effect on the human environment. The FAA’s list of CATEXs is contained in FAA Order 1050.1F. If a proposed action falls within the scope of a CATEX and there are no extraordinary circumstances, an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required. 

    Extraordinary circumstances are factors or circumstances that indicate a normally categorically excluded action may have a significant effect. Examples of extraordinary circumstances include potential substantial effects on sensitive environmental resources; potential substantial disproportionate and adverse effects on communities with environmental justice concerns; and potential substantial effects on historic properties or cultural resources.

  2. Environmental Assessment (EA)
    An EA is a concise public document, for which a federal agency is responsible, for an action that is not likely to have a significant effect or for which the significance of the effects is unknown. It is used to support an agency’s determination of whether to prepare an EIS or a finding of no significant impact. Complex drone proposals (e.g., package delivery using a drone) normally require preparation of an EA.
  3. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
    An EIS is a detailed written statement that is required by section 102(2)(C) of NEPA. EISs are prepared for proposed actions that are likely to result in significant environmental impacts.

The FAA is conducting NEPA reviews for advanced drone operations that are being proposed to the FAA for authorization. See below for links to environmental documents. 

In accordance with the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, to assist FAA practitioners and applicants that prepare NEPA documents under FAA supervision in evaluating the potential environmental impacts of UAS proposals that require FAA approval, the FAA developed a Desk Reference for UAS Environmental Review (in short, referred to as the UAS NEPA Desk Reference). The UAS NEPA Desk Reference is designed to complement FAA Order 1050.1F and the 1050.1 Desk Reference and should therefore be used in conjunction with both of those documents.

Programmatic Environmental Reviews

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 requires the FAA to examine and integrate programmatic-level approaches to the requirements of NEPA. A programmatic NEPA review assists decisionmakers and the public in understanding the environmental impact from proposed large-scope federal actions and activities. The FAA may prepare programmatic NEPA documents to evaluate the environmental effects of policies, programs, plans, or groups of related activities. When individual proposed actions are adequately analyzed in a programmatic document, the programmatic document can serve as the NEPA review for those actions. Programmatic documents may also be useful in providing the basis for subsequent project-level specific NEPA reviews. A programmatic NEPA document may contain a broader, less specific analysis compared to what is performed for a specific proposed project. Programmatic reviews and documentation can also identify mitigation measures to avoid environmental impacts on resources and alleviate the need for subsequent reviews.

The FAA has prepared two programmatic NEPA documents for UAS-related activities. The FAA prepared a programmatic EA (PEA) for FAA-Recognized Identification Areas and a PEA for Part 135 UAS package delivery operations in North Carolina (links to these PEAs are provided below). The FAA is currently planning to prepare a national PEA for Part 135 UAS package delivery operations in the United States. Information about this national environmental review will be posted on this website as the project progresses.

Public Involvement

Public involvement pertains to including the public in the FAA’s environmental review process. As the FAA takes actions to modernize the U.S. aerospace system for the 21st century, changes in aircraft type (including new entrants like drones) and aviation activity levels can generate community interest about the environmental impacts of aviation, particularly aircraft noise. Although today’s aircraft are substantially quieter than earlier generations of aircraft, noise continues to be the public’s primary interest in regard to aviation growth or changes. Other environmental impacts may also be of interest to the public.

As the FAA continues to advance the NAS, including the integration of drones into the airspace, we're committed to meaningful engagement and open dialogue with those affected by airspace changes. One way of providing input is by commenting on the FAA’s environmental review of drone proposals.

Community Engagement

In addition to the FAA involving the public as part of the NEPA process, it is important for UAS operators and local governments to engage the local community and inform the community about the proposed UAS operations. It is important to note that operations in public places (e.g., commercial small package delivery in suburban areas using a drone) require local approvals in addition to the FAA’s airspace authorization. The siting of drone “hubs” (takeoff and landing areas) and infrastructure for drone package delivery operations must comply with applicable state and local land use and zoning requirements. The FAA does not select the locations for commercial drone operators to conduct operations. Those locations are selected by the operators. Land use and zoning are typically governed by state and local laws. Operators are responsible for complying with any such applicable laws relevant to establishing their operations. Operators are expected to site their distribution hubs in accordance with all local land use ordinances and zoning requirements. Thus, in addition to coordinating with the FAA, drone operators may have to work with local government to obtain approvals. An applicant’s community engagement is a parallel process to the FAA’s public involvement as part of the NEPA review.

The FAA’s Community Involvement Manual reaffirms the FAA’s commitment, established in our Community Involvement Policy, to give the public an opportunity to be informed, become involved, and have their interests and views considered as the FAA evaluates proposals that might affect them. Community involvement does not guarantee outcomes that satisfy everyone. However, decisions that take community input into consideration are more likely to reflect the collective public interest, receive broader community acceptance, and experience fewer implementation and post-implementation problems.

The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 requires the FAA to establish a Community Collaboration Program that harmonizes the policies and procedures carried out by various offices of the FAA pertaining to community engagement relating to, among others, the integration of new and emerging entrants. Therefore, the FAA’s community engagement process may evolve as the FAA establishes the Community Collaboration Program.

We posted a Community Education Series on YouTube. In this series, we discuss the causes of noise exposure, and how the FAA is collaborating with stakeholders to address it.

You may review a list of UAS-related frequently asked questions. You may also send us an email or call us at 844-FLY-MY-UA (844-359-6982).

Last updated: Wednesday, June 17, 2026