Vanderhoef Considering Legal Action Against Airspace Redesign
Plan
Rockland County, NY Executive C.
Scott Vanderhoef announced Wednesday the law firm of Holland &
Knight of New York and Washington, DC, has been chosen to
investigate possible legal action against the Federal Aviation
Administration in overturning the environmental review process for
its New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Airspace Redesign
Project.
Vanderhoef said he would ask counties and municipalities
affected by the redesign plan to join any potential action Rockland
County may take against the FAA. A regional effort against the
airspace redesign plan would help make a stronger case against the
FAA and could also spread the costs of a lawsuit among a larger
base of taxpayers outside Rockland County, according to the city of
Rockland.
"This may be a 'David and Goliath' fight, but I believe it is a
fight we have a chance of winning, particularly if we present a
united front against the FAA," Vanderhoef said.
"We fully intend to pursue this challenge legally with every
resource available to us. We believe that Holland & Knight is
uniquely qualified to help us get this plan overturned or
eliminated completely."
As ANN has reported, the FAA
has almost completed a project that has spanned the last 10 years
to change air traffic patterns in a 31,000-square-mile area
covering five states that includes New York, according to the
Journal News.
In order to meet growth and efficiency goals, the FAA plan will
require 200-600 flights per day to be redirected over Rockland, at
an altitude of 5,000-6,000 feet.
Vanderhoef said Holland & Knight was chosen from four firms
that responded last week to the County's Request for Proposal
because of its expertise in FAA regulation, National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) review, and aviation and environmental litigation
issues as well as federal legislative advocacy.
"We are fully aware of the advanced stage of the FAA's
decision-making process and…are fully committed to devoting
all the resources necessary to mount an aggressive challenge on
behalf of the County," a letter from the firm's proposal
stated.
Vanderhoef has said that the FAA's final environmental impact
statement (FEIS), filed August 3, did not adequately address the
potential noise impact to Rockland residents and offers no
provision for noise reduction in its "Purpose and Need" statement,
possibly causing it to be in violation of the Aviation Safety and
Capacity Expansion Act of 1990.