BAC SP CATEX New Gates Sr 509 0001

Tbe decision from the 9th Circuit Court has remanded the new flight path through Burien known as the “Burien Turn” to the FAA to analyze for significant cumulative impacts considering the SAMP development. Within the decision the court referred to NEPA 40 CFR § 1508.7 which states: “Cumulative impact” is the impact on the environment which results from the incremental impact of the action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes such other actions. Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time. When considering the CATEX issued by FAA for the Burien Turn, the court referred to NEPA 40 CFR § 1508.4 which states: “Categorical exclusion” means a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a Federal agency in implementation of these regulations (§ 1507.3) and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required. An agency may decide in its procedures or otherwise, to prepare environmental assessments for the reasons stated in § 1508.9 even though it is not required to do so. Any procedures under this section shall provide for extraordinary circumstances in which a normally excluded action may have a significant environmental effect. In considering whether FAA should now analyze cumulative effects of the…
V V