DECEMBER 2019

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WAITING, WAITING AND MORE WAITING

THE FAA HAS  YET TO RESPOND TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE SKY HARBOR WORKSHOP INPUT IT RECEIVED LAST APRIL.  THE FAA HAS FAILED TO MEET ITS OWN TIMETABLE

The residents of Scottsdale and surrounding areas have yet to hear from the FAA regarding the comments it received from the pubic workshops it conducted last April.  At those workshops the FAA solicited input on Sky Harbor flight path issues in addition to the illegal western departure paths that the U.S. Court of appeals forced it to rescind last year.  The last public communication from the FAA was March 26, 1019 which was announcing the new April dates for the delayed February 2019 public workshops.

In a public communication the FAA made on October 9, 2018, the FAA announced the original dates for the public workshops that were to be held in the February/March 2019 time frame.  The FAA later delayed the workshops to the month of April.  However, the FAA published a timeline in that announcement as to how and when it would respond to the input from the workshops.  Adjusting the timeline for the two month delay in conducting the workshops, the FAA timeline stated this:Phoenix Step 2 Timeline - Tentative

February / March 2019 (adjust to April / May)

Public Workshops

Three public workshops will be held to provide information on Step 1 performance, provide an overview of comments collected during the initial public workshops regarding Step 2, and collect additional comments for consideration with regard to potential future actions. Any such future action would be solely at the FAA's discretion.

March / April 2019   (May / June)

Comment Collection

Comments will be gathered, analyzed and reviewed.

May / June 2019   (July / August)

Comment Responses

The FAA will provide topical responses to comments received from the workshops. The FAA will make a determination on what may be studied in Step 2.

June / July 2019   (August / September)

Step 2 Determination

The FAA will make a determination on whether to move forward on potential procedure design. If no procedures will be designed, then Step 2 will conclude.

November 2020 / May 2021 (January 2021 / July 2021)

Procedure Design Process

Procedure design, environmental review, and procedure publication follow policies and procedures in accordance with FAA orders. Additional public workshops may be conducted in support of community involvement.

As shown on the FAA timeline, by now the FAA should have provided an update on the  responses to the comments and proposals (Comment Responses) submitted to it during the workshops and to have made a determination (Step 2 Determination) on whether it is going to move forward on procedural design changes and what those designs would be, if any.  

SCANA has emailed the FAA twice in December asking it to respond and to abide by it's own published schedule.  You can see those emails on the SCANA website at airplanenoise.org.

SCANA is encouraging concerned residents to contact the FAA by CLICKING HERE and saying it must respond to the Scottsdale and northeast valley area residents regarding the Phoenix/Sky Harbor workshops. 

SCANA has met with the City of Scottsdale and is encouraging the City to also contact the FAA to insist on an update.  The City is working with various parties to do so and says it has not taken potential legal action off the table. 

Any updates that are forthcoming will be posted on the SCANA website.  Check it often for the latest news concerning all FAA issues here and across the Country.

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FAA LOSES ANOTHER LAWSUIT IN THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS.  BURIEN, WASHINGTON PREVAILS IN ITS LITIGATION

The U.S. Court of Appeals again ruled against the FAA in it's placement of new flight paths over unsuspecting cities and residents.  The City of Burien and the local Quiet Skies Coalition prevailed in the November 27th, 2019 announcement from the Court.  The FAA, as it did at Sky Harbor in 2014, used a "categorical exclusion" to allow it to make a flight path change at SeaTac Airport without any  evaluation of its impact on the environment, including the human health of those living below.  The Court ruled in the Phoenix case that the FAA's use of the categorical exclusion process was "arbitrary and capricious" and forced the FAA to remand nine western NextGen departure paths that were implemented under that process.  It appears the Court ruled in the same fashion in  the Burien case. CLICK HERE to see more information about the announcement.

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SPEAKING OF THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS RULING AGAINST THE FAA IN THE PHOENIX SKY HARBOR LAW SUIT, HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE COURTS RULING :  DOES IT SOUND LIKE IT SHOULD ONLY  BE APPLICABLE TO THE WESTBOUND DEPARTURE FLIGHT PATHS?

“In short, the FAA had several reasons to anticipate that the new flight routes would be highly controversial:  The agency was changing routes that had been in place for a long time, on which the City had relied in setting its zoning policy and buying affected homes.  The FAA found a “potential [for] controversy” but did not notify local citizens and community leaders of the proposed changes as the agency was obligated to, much less allow citizens and leaders to weigh in.  And the agency departed from its determinations in materially identical cases.  Thus, the FAA acted arbitrarily in finding under Order 1050.1E that the new routes were unlikely to be highly controversial and could thus be categorically excluded from further environmental review.”

WHILE THE FAA WAS SUCCESSFUL LATER IN GETTING THE PARTIES TO AGREE TO APPLY THE RULING ONLY TO WESTBOUND DEPARTURES, IT IS CLEAR THE COURT MADE NO SUCH DISTINCTION IN ITS REVIEW

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CITY OF LOS ANGELES FILES ANOTHER LAW SUIT, ITS SECOND, AGAINST THE FAA'S FLIGHT PATHS

On December 12, 2019 Los Angeles filed a second law suit against the FAA regarding NextGen departing flight paths out of Hollywood-Burbank airport.  The City has a previous law suit, filed on June 21, 2019 outstanding against the FAA regarding new arrival paths the FAA implemented at LAX Airport.  Litigation is becoming the norm to force the FAA to rescind the illegal processes it used to implement NextGen flight paths at airports around the Country as it did at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.  SCANA will post updates on these and other NextGen lawsuits as details become available.

CLICK HERE to read more about the first lawsuit.

CLICK HERE to read more about the second lawsuit.

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PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS TO RESTORE THE QUIET AND SAFE SKIES SCOTTSDALE ENJOYED BEFORE THEY WERE STOLEN BY THE FAA

WE DID NOT MOVE TO THE FAA, THE FAA MOVED TO US!

Thousands of homeowners in Scottsdale and across the Country purchased their homes before an airplane superhighway was "arbitrarily and capriciously" placed over their neighborhoods without their knowledge or input.