Drones over SRS nuclear site prompt discussion of no-fly zone

COLUMBIA, SC In the wake of reported drone sightings at the Savannah River Site, federal officials are looking to tighten air space restrictions over the 300-square-mile nuclear weapons complex in western South Carolina.

The Department of Energy says drones have flown over SRS at least eight times since June 19, raising concern that someone could be studying the site’s security force or taking photographs.

SRS, one of the key cogs in the nation’s Cold War weapons production effort, has an array of nuclear facilities that contain sensitive materials and information the federal government guards closely.

Drones have been spotted over every major part of SRS since the first one was seen last month, DOE spokesman Jim Giusti said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Law Enforcement Division are looking into the matter.

“There are a number of concerns in trying to deal with the drones,’’ senior SRS official Thomas Johnson said during a meeting Thursday in Columbia.

Because of those concerns, Johnson said “We are going through an effort to try to have the air space over the site restricted, if it’s possible. That effort has started.’’

While there are some restrictions on airplanes and drones over SRS now, there is no outright prohibition on flying over the site, Johnson and Giusti told the S.C. Nuclear Advisory Council. One of the main rules now is a 2,000-foot limit for airplanes that fly over SRS, Giusti said.

The SRS policy manual says the possession or operation of a drone, a remotely controlled flying machine, is restricted at the complex. But Giusti said “There is not a no-fly zone.’’

The Federal Aviation Administration can establish temporary flight restrictions at the request of public safety agencies, but it was not known Thursday if the Energy Department had spoken with the FAA about establishing a no-fly zone over SRS. Permanent flight restrictions also can be requested.

Giusti said drones seen over SRS were about three feet long and three feet wide, and appeared to be sophisticated. Site officials spotted them on June 19, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 and July 5, Giusti said.

He said the SRS security force could shoot down any drones considered a threat to facilities or people at the site, but so far, the flying machines have not posed that kind of hazard. Giusti and Johnson said they have no idea who is flying drones over the site. It’s possible the drones could have been operated by someone who mistakenly has sent the machines over SRS. For now, SRS employees are on watch and are “looking up into the sky and trying to figure out what’s going on,’’ Johnson said.

Giusti said the drones have not hovered over the site for long periods, but they have flown over the center of SRS and major buildings, such as the mixed oxide fuel plant. The plant, still under construction, has been a source of controversy because of its cost and mission. The MOX plant would turn deadly plutonium into nuclear fuel for commercial power plants.

State Sen. Tom Young, an advisory council member, said he’s worried about the presence of drones. The Aiken County Republican’s questions prompted the discussion of drones at Thursday’s meeting.

“With all of the stuff going on in the world today, it’s obviously a concern,’’ Young said, noting that “We don’t know who these drones belong to and what their intent is.’’

Young said he was encouraged that the DOE “was on top of this,’’ a message the public needs to hear.

Reports of drones surfaced at the end of June after media outlets learned an FBI official had interviewed a major critic of SRS. But the interview prompted a hot response from Tom Clements, a long-time SRS watcher. Clements said he had no knowledge of drones being flown over SRS, although drones may be used by site contractors sometimes.

Clements, who heads the group Savannah River Site Watch, sometimes uses aerial photography of SRS that is provided free to his organization by airplane pilots. Those pilots stay above 2,000 feet, Clements said.

“I recognize that SRS may have a valid concern if drones are being flown over the property, but my concern is ‘Why they would involve SRS Watch?’’ Clements said. “They don’t like that we publish legally taken photos of the MOX plant, as well as nuclear transport ships. But it is all public information and totally legal.’’