TagNinth Circuit Court of Appeals(4)

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit covers WA, OR and CA. It is the venue for cases concerning the FAA and Sea-Tac Airport. Although it consists of 29 judges, generally cases are heard by a mix of three judges, randomly assigned every month.

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  • 2025-11-24 00:00

    25-7439 Petition for Review of Agency Order – City of Burien, City of Des Moines, and City of SeaTac v. FAA

    A petition filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging the FAA’s Finding of Significant Impact/Record of Decision for the Sustainable Airport Master Plan Near-Term Projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The petition was filed by three Washington cities seeking review of the September 24, 2025 FAA decision.
  • 2019-10-23 01:41

    18-71705 United States Court of Appeal Ninth Circuit (decision)

    Before: IKUTA and BENNETT, Circuit Judges, and RAKOFF,** District Judge. Petitioner, the City of Burien (“Burien”), is a town located to the west of the Seattle-Tacoma Airport (“Sea-Tac”). Burien challenges the FAA’s decision to approve a procedure for turning southbound turboprops to the west in certain wind FILED NOV 27 2019 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. * * The Honorable Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, sitting by designation. conditions (“the Procedure”). The Procedure automates a formerly manual process of assigning headings to such turboprops, and has the effect of concentrating low- flying planes over Burien after takeoff. Burien argues that the FAA failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., when it approved the Procedure. We agree in part. NEPA requires agencies such as the FAA to consider and document the environmental impacts of their actions prior to implementing them. 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(c). Although NEPA usually requires agencies to conduct some form of environmental analysis before they act, an agency may identify certain actions as “categorical exclusions” (“CATEXs”) that are exempt from environmental review. CATEXs are reserved for actions that do not “individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment.” 40 C.F.R. § 1508.4. While agencies promulgate their own rules for identifying and applying CATEXs, all…
  • 2017-08-03 00:00

    Barnes v. Federal Aviation Administration – Ninth Circuit Court Opinion

    U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit opinion denying petition for review of FAA decision finding no significant environmental impact for new runway project at Hillsboro Airport near Portland, Oregon. The court held that the FAA’s supplemental environmental assessment and FONSI determination were not arbitrary or capricious.
  • 1992-06-12 20:31

    Flight Patterns – FAA’s ‘Four Post’ traffic plan for planes is illogical, insulting

    June 12, 1992 Publication: THE SEATTLE TIMES Page: A9 Word Count: 354 The Ninth Circuit in San Francisco recently voted that since the noise level was not above 65 decibels (recently raised from 55 decibels) the Federal Aviation Administration did not have to be subject to any environmental impact requirements. Therefore, the FAA’s brilliant “four post” plan remains