TagLeech Tishman(16)

Legal analysis from Steve Taber @ Leech Tishman examining how Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) addresses climate goals through federal tax incentives and production targets, while highlighting the gap between SAF’s global climate benefits and local community impacts like noise and air quality that remain unaddressed.

Law firm Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, Inc. sent this November 2025 letter to the cities of Burien, Des Moines, and SeaTac, Washington, along with Vashon Island Fair Skies, Inc., requesting their consent to be represented together in legal challenges against the FAA's environmental approval of near-term construction projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The firm explains that while a potential conflict of interest exists in representing multiple clients simultaneously, all parties currently share a common goal of contesting the FAA's Finding of No Significant Impact related to increased aviation noise. The letter outlines the conditions of the joint representation, including fee-sharing arrangements, attorney-client privilege limitations, and procedures the firm will follow if the clients' interests diverge.

This legal agreement establishes joint representation by attorney Steven M. Taber of Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, Inc. for the cities of SeaTac, Burien, and Des Moines in their shared legal challenge to the FAA's approval of the Port of Seattle's SAMP (Sustainable Airport Master Plan) project. The document discloses potential conflicts of interest that can arise when multiple municipalities share a single attorney, and obtains each city's informed written consent to proceed despite those risks. It also outlines how the three cities will share legal costs under an interlocal agreement and explains the procedures that would apply if a conflict between the cities were to emerge during the litigation.

This agreement establishes the terms under which attorney Steven M. Taber of Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman, Inc. will jointly represent the cities of SeaTac, Burien, and Des Moines in a legal challenge to the FAA's approval of the Port of Seattle's SAMP airport expansion project. It discloses potential conflicts of interest that can arise when multiple municipalities share one lawyer, and requires each city to formally consent to the arrangement in writing. The document also explains how the three cities will share legal costs under an interlocal agreement, and outlines steps that must be taken if conflicts between the cities emerge during the litigation.

Three Washington cities — Burien, Des Moines, and SeaTac — have filed a legal challenge in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against the Federal Aviation Administration's September 2025 decision approving near-term expansion projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The petition contests the FAA's Finding of Significant Impact/Record of Decision related to the airport's Sustainable Airport Master Plan, which the cities argue warrants judicial review. The filing, submitted November 21, 2025, was made within the 60-day statutory deadline under federal aviation law.

The cities of Burien, Des Moines, and SeaTac have hired the law firm Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl to challenge the Federal Aviation Administration's approval of the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). The firm will file a Petition for Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, with the FAA named as the respondent. Under the agreement, SeaTac will receive and pay all invoices, the firm's principal attorney bills at $540 per hour, and a $10,000 retainer is required to begin work.