Printed From Acorn-Online.com
Federal investigators to look into process behind FAA redesign
Nov 16, 2007
Gov. M. Jodi Rell says she was encouraged this week by the decision that the U.S. Government Accountability Office would be looking at the Federal Aviation Administration’s redesign of airspace in this region.
The study by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress that audits and evaluates government programs and activities, will look at, among other things, whether the FAA followed “applicable procedures and requirements for the airspace redesign, including the associated environmental impact statement.”
“The GAO review is encouraging,” said Ms. Rell. “We have made it clear that we are in this fight to win. Under the FAA’s plan, more planes — as many as 150 more per day — would be flying lower and bringing noise pollution and other ill effects to Fairfield County. We can and we will save our air space.”
The state will be joining Wilton and 11 neighboring towns, filing its own lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration airspace redesign plan, Gov. Rell and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced at a press conference in New Canaan Thursday morning, Nov. 1.
The FAA last month approved a plan that redirects planes on descent to LaGuardia Airport over southern Fairfield County and areas of New York at peak travel times.
New Canaan, Greenwich, Darien, Stamford, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston, Westport, Ridgefield, and Pound Ridge, N.Y., formed the Alliance for Sensible Airspace Planning, and have together hired legal counsel.
First Selectman William Brennan said last week he believes the state’s joining in the action against the FAA through the Department of Environmental Protection “indicates the seriousness of the issue.”
“Frankly, their case is very complementary to ours. What Gov. Rell and the attorney general stated was that the Alliance ... is extremely important because it shows the residents of these potentially impacted areas are very concerned and willing to place their own financial resources” into the battle, he said. “That always gets the attention of the courts.”
During the press conference at New Canaan Town Hall, Ms. Rell said that the state will examine the final environmental impact statement from the FAA, and that the state believes there are “sensible alternatives” and other reasons for alternatives, but “chief among them is the process itself.”
In a press release, Mr. Blumenthal said the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the agency to consider noise impacts when rerouting flights.
The FAA should revise landing and takeoff angles, minimum altitudes and management of nighttime flights to reduce the impact of the new flight paths, he stated in the release.
When asked if the filing will “halt” the FAA’s plans, Mr. Blumenthal said the filing itself does not stop the FAA but seeks a “stay,” which will force the FAA to reconsider alternatives.
Asked if there is legal precedent, he said, “This action, if it succeeds, will be unprecedented.”
“There is no precedent for stopping the FAA” from rerouting planes at three major airports, Mr. Blumenthal said. He added, “There has been no precedent for a lot of what we do.”
—Additional reporting by Brian Shea
© Copyright 2007 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers