Ninth Circuit Court Decision Requires FAA to Inform Communities of Environmental Impacts Before Implementing Next Gen Flight Track Changes

Congratulations to Barbara Lichman and the Buchalter law firm for this impressive victory!!!

As stated in the court decision, "NEPA requires the FAA and other federal agencies to evaluate and disclose the environmental impacts of their actions...The NEPA process is intended to ensure that 'before an agency can act,' the agency considers potential environmental impacts...The FAA did not do so here."

Per attorney Barbara Lichman, "...the Ninth Circuit's decision in the above case will have benefits not merely for the litigants, but for communities throughout the United States impacted by FAA's free-wheeling approach to implementation of Next Gen airspace changes."

The excerpt below is from Aviation and Airport Development Law News.

Buchalter Wins National Victory

By Barbara Lichman on July 13, 2021

POSTED IN FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA), LITIGATION, NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA)

"On Thursday, July 8, 2021, the City of Culver City and its co-Petitioner, City of Los Angeles, prevailed in the case of City of Los Angeles, et.al. v. Stephen Dickson, et al. against the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") on substantially all claims, an almost unprecedented outcome for local governments against a federal agency acting within its area of expertise. In that case, Petitioners challenged FAA's failure to perform any environmental review, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq. ("NEPA") before implementing changes in aircraft flight tracks that lowered altitudes and consolidated flight tracks over residential areas not previously overflown, resulting in continuing and vociferous community opposition. That challenge was brought in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit under its original jurisdiction, 49 U.S.C. § 46110, in the adjudication of challenges to FAA actions."

To read the full posting visit Aviation and Airport: Development Law News.