Rep Andrews and Rep Sestak Continue to Fight the FAA’s Airspace Redesign Plan
 

Yesterday, myself and Congressman Joe Sestak urged all governments affected by the FAA’s proposed Airspace Redesign plan to seek emergency litigation to stop the implementation of this plan. I want to commend Mayor Chris Bollwage of Elizabeth New Jersey for his leadership on this issue as he has already filed for such emergency litigation in an effort to stop this plan from moving forward.

It has been our conclusion from the start that the FAA’s plan is not only flawed in its design, but will not significantly reduce flight delays and will be an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars. We believe that the FAA is now rushing the implementation of this plan in their effort to dodge what we I believe will be a scathing report from the Government Accountability Office who is in the middle of an evaluation study of this plan. 

Below is an article highlighting our recent efforts:

Congressmen seek help blocking FAA's airspace plan

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

By EILEEN STILWELL
Courier-Post Staff

Two area congressmen who oppose the Federal Aviation Administration's  plan to redesign airspace over the Northeast are asking all government entities likely to be affected by overhead noise and fumes to try to block the new paths in federal court.

The FAA will begin phasing in its plan to reroute flight paths in the congested skies coming out of Philadelphia and Newark airports on Dec. 17.

"We've been very upfront about this since the record of decision was published on Sept. 5th," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters.

U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., and his Pennsylvania counterpart and fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Joseph Sestak accuse the FAA of rushing in a flawed, overpriced plan that fails to reduce delays and threatens public health.

In May, the legislators requested the Government Accountability Office  to review the plan, but results will not be published until the spring.

"We believe the GAO will come back with results that say the FAA overstated benefits , understated costs and ignored public health issues," Andrews said Tuesday in a teleconference with Sestak and Elizabeth Mayor Christopher Bollwage. The City of Elizabeth has filed for an injunction to stop implementation of the new plan until the GAO completes its audit.

"The FAA is concerned that GAO will come and say they didn't get it right. This rush -- or stampede -- is 100 percent wrong," said Andrews.

Andrews and Sestak have offered to supply potential litigants with sworn statements saying they believe the FAA is recklessly rushing the plan.

Andrews said he has not offered to join in a federal matter of this magnitude since 1991 when he opposed the closing of the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The yard closed five years later.

Sestak accused the FAA of accelerating the process in response to political pressure from the White House to improve service to holiday travelers.

The FAA plan expands the airspace horizontally and vertically over New York, New Jersey and the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The plan was the result of nearly 10 years of study, 120 public meetings and $50 million in expenses.

On paper, South Jersey residents are not expected to be bombarded by more noise than usual, but in reality some pockets probably will, Peters said in September.

Opposition to the plan, which covers 29 million residents in five states, has been strong. Residents fear more noise and challenge FAA's promise of a 20 percent reduction in flight delays.

To date, 11 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts.

A national report released this fall ranked Philadelphia 26th out of 32 airports in the nation for on-time arrivals and 27th for on-time departures for the first seven months of 2007. LaGuardia and Kennedy airports ranked consistently at the bottom.

Reach Eileen Stilwell at (856) 486-2464 or estilwell@courierpostonline.com

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