Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed a bill late Monday meant to give law state enforcement some means of dealing with mystery drones over critical infrastructure, saying the bill conflicted with federal law.
That concern is valid, Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle told Cowboy State Daily, but he still hopes state or federal lawmakers can find a solution going forward so local officials can deal with the mystery aircraft that still hover over his county.
“We just need to come to some kind of conclusion or terms that are going to allow us to help protect our citizens,” he said. “Because even to this day, we don’t have any answers, and we continue to have — not necessarily drones — but whatever these flying objects are over our community.”
The last mystery-aircraft sighting was last week, said Grossnickle.
Local residents and law enforcement have reported seeing them over critical infrastructure like the Jim Bridger power plant. They’ve seen them flying in patterns, and an air medical pilot saw one in the air that appeared to be surveying the ground below with a light, the sheriff added.
Grossnickle said he’s been in contact with the offices of U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman and U.S. Sen. John Barrasso. The federal lawmakers have urged Grossnickle’s office to relay sighting reports to the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, he said.
The Veto
Had it become law, Senate File 132 would have let Wyoming law enforcement agents recommend misdemeanor and subsequent felony charges for unauthorized drone operators flying over critical infrastructure, like power plants.
It also would have let officers take “reasonable actions” to stop such drones, including disabling or damaging them. And it would have authorized the governor to send the Wyoming National Guard to help with those efforts.
It carved out exceptions, such as for private landowners flying drones over their own land, even if there’s critical infrastructure on that land.
Gordon’s Monday veto letter to Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, says he appreciates the Legislature’s — and the bill sponsor Sen. Stacy Jones’ — recognition of the drone issue.
Jones is a Rock Springs Republican who has championed Grossnickle’s concerns on this issue in legislative hearings.
Gordon himself articulated concerns about Wyoming drone sightings in a January meeting with President Donald Trump. Many of Wyoming’s sheriffs have spotted them or received reports about them since about October.
But state laws are preempted if they conflict with FAA law or regulations, and federal law makes it a felony to “damage, destroy, disable or wreck any aircraft,” Gordon’s veto letter notes.
If Gordon were to authorize the National Guard to defend federal airspace, he couldn’t do that without authorization from the U.S. Secretary of Defense, he wrote.
“I am unable to imagine a hypothetical situation wherein the Department of Defense authorization would not provide the necessary approval to the National Guard, thus making any subsequent order from me superfluous,” Gordon wrote.
The act is well-intentioned, but the issue should be resolved at the federal level, the governor wrote, adding that he hopes the Trump administration will help the state in this area.
“Rest assured that Wyoming will continue to aggressively pursue every option to provide local authorities with the proper tools to control unmanned aerial vehicles,” the veto letter concludes.
Hopefully lawmakers can produce solutions quickly, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s spokesman Jason Mower said in a joint interview with Grossnickle.
“The concern is also, that by not addressing it … on a long enough timeline somebody’s going to take matters into their own hands,” said Mower, likely referencing many Wyoming residents’ calls to shoot the drones. “And we’re going to be left to deal with that as well.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
