FBI to investigate drone sightings over nuclear site

The FBI is launching an investigation after a series of drone sightings outside a nuclear-weapons plant in Southern California known as the SRS complex. Federal agencies have been alerted to keep watch over the 310 square mile space which holds hazardous materials, including nuclear waste.

The Federal Aviation Administration has regulations and warnings in place advising pilots to not fly within 400 feet of buildings and to stay at least 400 feet above ground.

State law enforcement spokesman Mark Keel said, "they have got our attention…Drones flying over any critical infrastructure, government facility, military base — with the environment we are living in today, would be a concern to law enforcement and homeland security officials."

Tom Clements, director of the nonprofit Savannah River Site Watch, has been questioned by the FBI, in part due to aerial photos his organization has taken of SRS in the past, particularly the mixed oxide fuel plant contained within the boundaries of the facility. Clements has maintained that his photos were taken from an airplane operating within FAA regulations. Since the group has been monitoring the facility for several years, Clements is at a loss to explain the agency’s logic in questioning him.