Culver City Filed Duplicate Suit Against The Agency

New flight paths in southern California have prompted the city of Newport Beach to file a lawsuit against the FAA last Thursday, which alleges that the agency's proposed new flight paths were completed without an adequate environmental review. The Los Angeles Times reports that officials in Culver city filed a duplicate suit the following day.

The suits are tied to the FAA's Metroplex project, which is replacing aging radar-based air traffic control systems. The implementation of NextGen led to a redesign of the airspace over southern California that The procedures will be implemented from November through April.

The FAA conducted an environmental assessment that indicated that the project would not cause significant noise issues. However, the cities challenge that analysis, and say they believe there are significant errors in the document. Culver City Mayor Jim Clarke said the cities hope that "the FAA will work with us and other communities to mitigate the serious impact on our residents’ quality of life from these flight path changes.”

The Newport Beach lawsuit was filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. It alleges the Metroplex project violates the National Environmental Policy Act.

The two lawsuits are part of an increasing number of legal challenges around the country that have arisen due to the implementation of Metroplex programs in cities like Boston, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.faa.gov/nextgen/snapshots/metroplexes/