Comment from National Congress of American Indians

July 6, 2026 Bryan Bedford, Administrator Federal Aviation Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20590-0001 RE: Designation—Restrict the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to a Fixed Site Facility; Docket No. FAA-2026-4558; Notice No. 26-03; RIN 2120-AL33 Dear Administrator Bedford: On behalf of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), I am transmitting the attached formal comment letter, signed by Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr., regarding proposed 14 C.F.R. Part 74. While NCAI supports the FAA’s public safety objectives, the proposed rule contains four regulatory gaps that raise substantial concerns under the Administrative Procedure Act and would leave Tribal Nations unprotected. Remove the 500-inmate threshold for Tribal correctional facilities. No Tribal facility in the United States meets this threshold due to statutory sentencing caps under federal law. A drone-delivered weapon in a 30-bed Tribal facility creates an immediate security crisis identical to that in a large state prison. The threshold excludes 100 percent of Tribal facilities without any reasoned basis in the administrative record. Establish objective geographic triggers and require government-to-government consultation. The proposed property-line boundary does not account for the fragmented “checkerboard” land tenure patterns of many reservations. The final rule should adopt a 5-statute-mile radius from Tribal trust lands as an objective trigger for mandatory government-to-government consultation before any Unmanned Aircraft Flight Restriction affecting Tribal lands is approved. Protect sacred sites and Traditional Cultural Properties in environmental reviews. The rule must account for impacts to Tribal cultural landscapes and incorporate confidentiality protections under Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. § 307103), allowing Tribal Nations to engage through confidential government-to-government consultation rather than public dockets. Issue a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector. Proposed § 74.96 leaves eligibility criteria entirely “Reserved.” Inserting final thresholds without prior notice would violate the APA’s logical outgrowth doctrine. NCAI looks forward to engaging with the FAA through government-to-government consultation as the agency develops the final rule. Respectfully submitted, Viswatej Attili Policy Associate National Congress of American Indians