The city of Malibu has petitioned a federal appeals court to rethink a Federal Aviation Administration decision adding new flight paths in and out of Los Angeles International Airport that the city says has increased noise pollution for local residents.
Malibu filed its petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in April. The petition calls on the FAA to reconsider the addition of three flight paths into and out of LAX due to what the city views as strong noise impacts.
“Like every community in America, Malibu needs to be able to enjoy peace and quiet as an important part of community health and wellness,” Mayor Steve Uhring said in a statement emailed to the Southern California Record. “However, our residents, as well as the habitats and wildlife of the Santa Monica Mountains, are heavily impacted by aircraft noise. I urge the FAA to work with Malibu to find solutions so that we can protect our quality of life.”
The FAA’s Feb. 20 decision to put the new flight paths into operation doesn’t allow for further discussions about the environmental impacts of the flight paths, the city contends.
“The city hopes to open a dialogue with the FAA about the impacts of these flight paths on the community, the need to take the issue seriously and to work with the city to develop flight procedures that will reduce those impacts,” the city said in a news release. “While that may not be achievable solely through litigation, the city hopes that the prospect of a court review of the FAA’s decision will persuade the FAA to come to the table and work with the city to find mutually acceptable solutions.”
The FAA declined to respond to Malibu’s complaint, saying that it does not comment on pending litigation.
In a recent letter to the federal agency, the city cited the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal to argue that the FAA must strike a balance between the safety and efficiency of flight paths and the protection of people in nearby communities.
“The city of Malibu believes that the current FAA’s Noise Policy and its orders are out of balance,” the letter sent to the agency by City Manager Steve McClary states. “The current rules, regulations and orders have over-emphasized and prioritized ‘safety and efficiency’ in the airspace while ignoring or downplaying the risks and effects of the safety and protection of persons on the ground.”
The city indicated that contrary to how the federal Environmental Protection Agency allows state and local agencies to oversee noise regulation, the FAA has maintained that local governments do not have the authority to alter flight paths to reduce noise.
“FAA must either protect people on the ground with adequate, enforceable noise policy, or move out of the way and let state and local governments protect their residents from the public health crisis that is aircraft noise,” the city said in its letter.
Under the agency’s new NextGen application, flight paths nationwide have been constrained to narrower areas while aircraft altitudes have been reduced, the city reported, adding that it rejects the agency’s position that NextGen procedures would not significantly lead to noise increases in the Southern California region.
“Since the implementation of the NextGen flight procedures at LAX on April 8, 2017, the residents of Malibu have been severely affected by an increase in noise from aircraft arriving at LAX,” the city said in its letter. “Before the NextGen flight procedures were implemented, a larger number of aircraft arriving at LAX flew over unpopulated land and were spread out over a larger area. After NextGen, that is no longer the case. The NextGen flight procedures are now concentrated over Malibu.”