On Thursday, July 8, 2021, the City of Culver City and its co-Petitioner, City of Los Angeles, prevailed in the case of City of Los Angeles, et.al. v. Stephen Dickson, et al. against the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) on substantially
Aviation & Airport
Development Law News
The Aviation & Airport blog published by Buchalter focuses on legal issues related to airport operations, aviation regulation, and environmental compliance. It covers topics such as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policies, airport development and expansion, noise impact on communities, aeronautical activity definitions, and relevant legislation affecting airports and airspace. The blog also discusses court decisions impacting agency authority and environmental review requirements under laws like NEPA and CEQA. Additionally, it addresses emerging aviation technologies including drones, commercial space vehicles, and advanced air mobility, highlighting their regulatory and community impact.
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FAA Loosens Restrictions on Drone Flights Over People, Automobiles, and at Night
On April 21, 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) took the next step toward what it calls the “further integration of Unmanned Aircraft (UA) in the National Airspace System.” However, that description somewhat understates the impact of FAA’s action. By…
New Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig Gets Education on FAA’s NextGen Issues
The citizens’ organization, Quiet Skies, made up of communities around the nation impacted by airport operations, is making its views about the increasing impacts of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) NextGen initiative known to new Secretary of Transportation Buttigeig at…
Communities Challenging NextGen Are In Good Company
Communities challenging, or considering a challenge, to the noise and other impacts from low-flying aircraft, enabled in new flight paths and altitudes by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) NextGen Initiative, may find some comfort in the knowledge that they are…
FAA Research on Environmental Issues Ignores Significant Factors in Public Discontent
On January 13, 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) published, in the Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 8, Docket No. FAA-2021-0037, p. 2722, a necessary, if somewhat belated, “summary to the public of the research programs it sponsors . .…
Congress Members Express Concern with FAA Noise Metric Report
Members of the Congressional Quiet Skies Caucus, composed of Congresspersons throughout the United States whose constituents are significantly impacted by aircraft noise, have expressed deep concern, in a letter of September 23, 2020, to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”)…
Colorado Court Judgment Finds Noise Modeling Significantly Understates Aircraft Noise
In a June 19, 2020 Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment (“Judgment”), the District Court of Jefferson County, Colorado, in Board of Commissioners of Adams County v. City and County of Denver, recounted in detail the expert testimony…
Proposed Legislation Repudiates Congress’ Hands Off Policy Toward Aircraft Certification
In a momentous shift of its normally conciliatory relationship with aircraft manufacturers, the United States Senate, on June 17, 2020, introduced the “Aircraft Safety and Reform Act,” legislation that will, if enacted, effectively reverse the provisions of the Federal Aviation…
Financial Accommodations for Airport Tenants in Response to COVID-19
Airport sponsors and their legal counsel have been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to exercise judgment and make tough decisions regarding the financial accommodations they will offer their commercial aeronautical tenants to help them weather the current storm. In many…
Executive Order Presents a Trade-Off Between Infrastructure Investment and Environmental Regulation
On June 4, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order, “EO On Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the Covid-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities” (“EO”) for the expressed purpose of forestalling “the likelihood of a potentially…