Sec. 576. Tower marking
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Section 2110 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 ( 49 U.S.C. 44718 note) is amended to read as follows: Except as provided by paragraph (2), not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 or the date of availability of the database developed by the Administrator pursuant to subsection (c), whichever is later, all covered towers shall be either— 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). In this section, the following definitions apply: The term covered tower means a structure that— is a meteorological evaluation tower, a self-standing tower, or 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 is located on land that is— in a rural area; and used for agricultural purposes or immediately adjacent to such land. The term covered tower does not include any structure that— 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. The Administrator shall— 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; ensure that, by virtue of accessing the database, users agree and acknowledge that information in the database— 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. As part of a rulemaking conducted pursuant to this section, the Administrator— 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. .
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