Notes
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judgment and memorandum denying consolidated petitions for review in Vaughn et al. v. FAA et al., Nos. 16-1377, 16-1378, 17-1010, 17-1029. Petitioners — Culver City, Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, and two individuals — challenged the FAA’s 2016 Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the SoCal Metroplex project, a redesign of air-traffic control procedures and flight paths at Southern California airports under the NextGen program. Court reviewed FAA compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. § 4321), the Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Vision 100 Act, § 709(c)(7)), and the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7401) under the APA arbitrary and capricious standard. Claims addressed include noise effects (NIRS vs. AEDT software), air emissions, cumulative environmental effects, and inaccurate flight paths shared during public notice. Court held FAA’s analysis was substantively reasonable and procedurally sound; petitions denied. Judges Tatel, Edwards, and Ginsburg.