Notes
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unpublished memorandum decision in City of Burien v. Daniel K. Elwell and Federal Aviation Administration, No. 18-71705, filed November 27, 2019. The court partially agreed with Burien that the FAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously under NEPA (42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq.) by approving the ‘Burien 250 Turn’ procedure — a flight procedure automating westward turns for southbound turboprops at Sea-Tac Airport in certain wind conditions, concentrating low-flying aircraft over Burien. The FAA applied a categorical exclusion (CATEX) under FAA Order 1050.1F ¶ 5-6.5i for modifications to procedures below 3,000 feet AGL not significantly increasing noise over noise-sensitive areas, but failed to consider all reasonably foreseeable future actions at Sea-Tac in its cumulative impacts analysis under 40 C.F.R. § 1508.7. Judges Ikuta, Bennett, and Rakoff presiding.