Texas UAV Enthusiast Uses Pilotless Aircraft to Uncover River Contamination
01/24/2012 -
A tip from an anonymous amateur unmanned-aerial-vehicle pilot is what led Texas authorities to open a major criminal investigation into the waste practices of a Dallas meat packing plant.
The Environmental Protection Agency, The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and Texas Parks and Wildlife are investigating whether a Dallas meat packing plant was sending its wastewater to a local river after images from an amateur UAV pilot showed a river behind the plant “full of blood.” The Columbia Meat packing plant sits along a creek that runs into the Trinity River.
The contamination was noticed by the operator after reviewing images he’d taken of the Trinity River while flying a homemade UAV, according to Small Unmanned Aerial Systems News (sUAS), a Web site that tracks unmanned vehicle-related news.
“This flight was undertaken completely within the law, below 400 feet and visual line of sight,” wrote Gary Mortimer of sUAS. Mortimer was one of the first to interview the pilot, who wishes to remain anonymous:
“I was looking at images after the flight that showed a blood red creek and was thinking, could this really be what I think it is,” the UAV operator said. After contacting local environmental agencies and the Coast Guard, the pilot said investigators were dispatched within 20 minutes, starting a two-month investigation that led to the execution of a search warrant on Thursday.
Pig blood had been flowing from the packing plant into the creek from an underground pipe near the back of the facility, according to Dallas County Health and Human Services and the search warrant. There is an active criminal investigation into the discharge, said Andrea Morrow from the TCEQ press office.
Columbia Packing Company issued a statement Wednesday saying that it was “surprised by the allegations raised last week and was previously unaware of any such concerns.”
“A good news drone story for a change. Every environmental department really ought to have one,” Mortimer wrote.
Farmers, utilities companies, and even news organizations say that using aerial drones would be beneficial to daily operations; however, drones are still illegal to operate commercially in the United States. “Model aircraft” can operate at elevations of 400 feet and below and licenses are available for government and law enforcement agencies to operate at higher altitudes.
Let's have fewer regulations. Free the corporation. We have all the evidence we need that the private sector can govern itself. BTW, we used to call these "Small Unmanned Aerial Systems" RC model planes. First thing I did when cams became smaller and battery-powered was to put one in my bomber:) The government gathers intelligence with UAVs and so can the citizen. UAV wars. Fun.
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