Rockland County’s attempt to turn back the FAA was turned down by the Supreme Court this week. The aviation agency has proposed routing 200-300 airplanes over Rockland County into Newark Airport as part of a plan to reduce delays at metro area airports.
A brief filed with the high court against the Federal Aviation Administration’s NY Metropolitan Airspace Redesign Project argued that the Court of Appeals incorrectly dismissed the county’s claim that the agency disregarded rules regarding proper public notice and comment. The Court refused to hear the county’s appeal without any explanation or dissent.
‘€œThis is terribly disappointing but it doesn’t come as a big surprise,” says County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef. “The FAA violated federal law by not considering issues like noise pollution and environmental impact, and the courts have, in effect, rewarded the FAA for not doing a thorough job.’€ Vanderhoef says he will continue to fight the FAA initiative by working with Congressman Eliot Engel and Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
In 2009, the Rockland County Legislature recently approved an additional $15,000 expenditure for outside counsel so that the County could continue to fight against the FAA’s redesign plan in court.
Sources: MyFox.com, 1/19/2010, Rockland County 1/20/2010, NyackNewsAndViews 11/19/09
