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Culpeper supervisors authorize county attorney to seek FAA authorization for sheriff—s drone program
Summary
The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors voted Oct. 1 to authorize the county attorney to sign a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration initiating the process to obtain a COA and related waivers for a sheriff—s unmanned aircraft (drone) program; county staff said drones were purchased with internal savings and training will include Part 107 certification.
The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 1 authorized the county attorney to sign a declaration to the Federal Aviation Administration to begin the certification process for an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) program for the Culpeper County Sheriff—s Office.
County officials told the board the department has already acquired drones using savings from outside jail sources and is seeking the FAA—s COA (certificate of authorization) to operate for law enforcement and public-safety tasks. Sheriff Chilton said, "We have 10, I believe, in house," and that the department is not asking the board for additional funds to purchase equipment.
The county—s presenter explained the two common FAA pathways: Part 107, which requires individual pilots to complete a certification test, and a COA to authorize agency operations. Staff said the county will pursue a COA for jurisdiction-wide operations while also having pilots obtain Part 107 certifications to expand operational waivers such as night flights and flights over crowds. An office presenter summarized the procedural purpose: the letter is the step to begin the COA process.
Officials described planned uses for the aircraft: search-and-rescue (including missing-child searches), thermal and zoom imagery to support firefighting and brush-fire mapping, GIS surveying after storms, and criminal-investigation assistance. Staff said the fleet includes two larger-payload drones with extended flight times (45–50 minutes in typical conditions) and several thermal-capable units intended to be staged by shift. The office also said about a dozen staff members have volunteered to become certified pilots and that dispatchers, jail staff and civilian personnel would also be trained to operate drones to increase availability.
Board members raised privacy and property-control concerns and noted it remains illegal to shoot at an aircraft. One supervisor voiced support for combining the COA and Part 107 approach and said the letter is appropriate to begin FAA coordination. A motion to authorize the county attorney to sign the FAA declaration carried by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded.
The board—s action authorizes staff to proceed with the FAA application and related pilot certification; the county did not adopt operational policies or a final usage directive at the meeting. The board said it expects staff to return with any required policy, training and interagency agreements as the COA process proceeds.
