April 2008

At a April 2, 2008, hearing entitled "From the Wright Brothers to the Right Solutions:  Curbing Soaring Aviation Emissions," the EPA indicated its plans to release an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) soon to solicit comments regarding curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from aircraft engines.  Robert Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation, testified before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming that the agency had received petitions urging EPA to determine that aircraft emissions cause or contribute to air pollution and endanger public health. The petitions further urge EPA to adopt regulations to control emissions.  The FAA also presented its thought at the Hearing.  Daniel K. Elwell, Assistant Administrator, Office of Aviation Policy, Planning and Environment, testified that the FAA believed that strides were already being made toward reducing GHG emitted from aircraft and counseled patience, since aircraft emissions account for only 3% of GHG in the United States.

Also testifying were:

Continue Reading EPA Plans To Release An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Aircraft Emissions

As is well known, the FAA’s Record of Decision on September 5, 2007 (and subsequently amended on October 5, 2007) regarding the NY/NJ/PA Airspace Redesign generated a host of litigation.  Twelve Petitions for Review were filed in three different Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. Seven petitions from counties, municipalities and organizations in Pennsylvania, Delaware and

On April 11, 2008, a group of concerned cities, companies and citizens filed comments regarding the EPA’s proposed revisions to the General Conformity Regulations (see earlier post "EPA Proposes Revisions to General Conformity Rules).  To see the Group’s actual Comment letter as filed, click here.

The General Conformity Rules, which the EPA promulgated in 1993 and has not substantially updated since then, require Federal agencies to evaluate the effect their actions will have on air quality prior to their taking any such action.  The Group expressed concern that the revisions that the EPA was suggesting took away some of the protection that the Clean Air Act granted citizens in section 176 (42 U.S.C. 7506).  In addition, the Comment letter stated that the EPA:

  • should not allow Federal agencies, in certain instances, to shift the burden of proving that the project conforms to the SIP onto “third parties” (that is, the communities) and the EPA.
  • should not allow Federal agencies to obtain permission to emit air pollutants without any connection to a particular project thereby eliminating the need for them to analyze air quality when they undertake projects. Thus, emission increases are effectively hidden in the SIP, unseen and unanalyzed by the communities.
  • should not allow the Federal agencies to unilaterally  decide when an analysis is necessary, rather than requiring them to perform an analysis every time.
  • should add a definition of applicability analysis.
  • should delete the "presumed to conform" program, since only one agency has taken advantage of it in 15 years and it most likely violates the Clean Air Act and the Constitution.

Continue Reading Group of Concerned Cities, Companies and Citizens Files Comments Regarding EPA’s Proposed General Conformity Revisions

The Federal Aviation Administration’s recent paroxysm of safety concern– forcing airlines to immediately cancel thousands of MD-80 flights because of a 1/4 inch deviation in the location of an electrical bundle in the wheel well — reveals at least two “inconvenient truths”: (1) despite it repeated use of the safety rationale to justify repeated violations