As tens of thousands of recreational users of aerial drones register their devices with the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency expects to issue a final regulation “in late spring” for non-hobbyist drones, including those that construction firms use, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta says.

So far, the FAA has authorized, based on application reviews, more than 3,000 commercial drone operators for land surveying and other uses, Huerta said in a Jan. 6 speech. “While we have streamlined the current authorization process, the [coming] rule will greatly decrease the need for case-by-case approvals, increasing operators ease of access to the National Airspace System,” he said, according to a prepared text.