Oct 11, 2007
GOVERNMENT:
Town may join lawsuit against FAA
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by Chipp Reid, Press Staff
Ridgefield appears set to join a growing list of Fairfield County towns planning to sue the Federal Aviation Administration to stop a proposed redesign of the airspace over the Northeast.
The Board of Selectmen gave First Selectman Rudy Marconi permission to attend meetings with representatives from New Canaan, Wilton, Greenwich, and Darien and other towns planning to pursue legal action to prevent the FAA from routing aircraft over those towns. Mr. Marconi said he expects the cost of joining any lawsuit to run up to $70,000 over two years. He said the suit would probably cost the town $30,000 from the onset, with additional costs as it progressed through the courts. Each town joining the suit is likely to pay the same amount.
“We need to let people know there is a serious issue in the skies over south Ridgefield, Redding and Wilton,” Mr. Marconi said. “The last thing we want is to get calls about airplane noise and have to say, ‘Oh, we had our chance but thought $30,000 was too much to weigh in.’”
The Board of Selectmen did not vote on the funds.
In addition to the towns’ battle, U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays continues to look for ways to halt the airspace redesign. The 4th District Republican joined forces with a pair of New Jersey Republicans in asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the Integrated Airspace Alternative is actually the best way to improve safety and efficiency at the four major airports in the region.
Mr. Marconi was at a meeting Oct. 4 in New Canaan at which the towns, which formed a group called the Alliance for Airspace Planning, interviewed various law firms specializing in dealing with the FAA. In a strange twist, one of those firms recused itself from the search process because the FAA hired it to fight potential lawsuits.
“Now is the time to get involved,” Mr. Marconi said. “We’re working on a regional effort to help defray the costs.”
The FAA plan includes Philadelphia International Airport, Newark and Teterboro airports in New Jersey, and LaGuardia, Kennedy and Westchester County airports in New York. The hallmark of the plan is the re-routing and re-timing of flights.
According to the FAA, the plan “would combine high-altitude and low-altitude airspace to create more efficient arrival and departure routes.”
Mr. Marconi said the change in altitude is one aspect that concerns him most.
“My question continues to be, ‘What happens to the private planes operating out of Danbury?’” he said. “When the FAA lowers the ceiling on commercial air traffic, that is going to force smaller planes to fly even lower, and yet they won’t even address the issue.”
In addition to the flight paths, the Integrated Airspace Alternative allows for a doubling of air traffic by 2011 as well as a reduction in the distance between aircraft from five nautical miles to three. The FAA admits this would create more aircraft over town for longer intervals, although it also says it is the best way to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic.
The new air traffic pattern would also allow commercial jets to come in lower on approach than the FAA currently permits. The current ceiling is 10,000 feet to 15,000 feet. The Integrated Airspace Alternative lowers that to 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet.
The FAA says the lower ceilings allow for quicker approaches and landings, allowing airports to handle more aircraft.
Congressional fight
Mr. Shays called for the GAO investigation along with Scott Garrett (R-N.J., and Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.). They want the GAO to compare the FAA plan to using market-based strategies to reduce air congestion. The three GOP lawmakers offered two alternatives to the FAA plan for the GAO to consider. The first is what the congressmen called “de-peaking strategies.”
”These strategies alleviate congestion and delays at airports during peak travels times, and can require varying degrees of government involvement,” they said in a joint statement.
According to this alternative, “Airlines may negotiate schedules, so long as government officials are present to comply with antitrust laws.” A government agency — they did not specify which one — could also “offer de-peaking incentives such as peak hour pricing to reduce scheduling demand, which is known as congestion pricing.”
A second alternative is “slots and quotas.” Under this plan, the FAA or airports could assign slots to airlines and place quotas or limits on how many could operate out of any particular airport.
The only airport in the country that currently uses slots is Washington Reagan National Airport, the congressmen said.
The three Republicans offered the amendment to House Resolution 2881, the FAA Reauthorization Act.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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