Robert Hartline caught some flack for flying a drone over the Cumberland River and through Nashville’s Fourth of July fireworks in 2014. There was also the time he says he had permission to fly around Nissan Stadium but was told to stop by Metro Police.
“I promise you, anybody who tells me in a uniform to not do something, I’m not going to do it,” he says. “But it is a gray area.”
The agency that controls waterways in Middle Tennessee issued rules this week governing the use of camera drones on lakes and shorelines. The
regulations from the Army Corps of Engineers are some of the first from a big manager of public property in Tennessee, and they highlight that hobbyists and commercial pilots are still stuck in legal limbo.
The Corps has designated certain spots on Middle Tennessee lakes that are cleared for drone operation by amateurs. But they’re requiring professional producers to ask permission at least two weeks out.
- Lake Barkley: Canal Overlook Recreation Area
- Cheatham Lake: Brush Creek Recreation Area
- J. Percy Priest Lake: Fall Creek Recreation and Vivrette Creek Recreation Areas
- Old Hickory Lake: Sanders Ferry Park, Nat Caldwell Park and Lock Four Recreation Areas
- Center Hill Lake: Johnsons Chapel Recreation Area
- Cordell Hull Lake: Brimstone Recreation Area
- Dale Hollow Lake: Keisling Bottom Recreation Area
- Lake Cumberland: Pulaski County Park
By contrast, there are no restrictions at this point on waterways managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, though a TVA spokesman says they are in the works.
Wendy Whittemore runs a company called Aerial Innovations of Tennessee and says the rules for flying are still so scattered that she makes sure to get an official OK no matter where she is.
“You know, companies like ours, I would just rather be safe than sorry,” she says. “I’ve been to several conferences with ‘the guy’ from the FAA who is supposed to be making the rules, and even he isn’t sure.”
Some government agencies are treating drones just like any other aircraft. Tennessee state parks require drone operators to get special clearance from the local ranger. And if they’re a commercial videographer, they also have to get a permit from the state’s film commission.
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