Who says you can’t fight City Hall?
Well, it gets a lot easier when City Hall is actually doing some of the fighting.
That’s what appears to be happening in the announcement this week from the Federal Aviation Administration that they would not begin to implement their reviled airport redesign plan for Philadelphia International Airport on Monday, as they had been indicating they would.
The move by the feds was a reaction to the latest volley fired from Delaware County on the heated issue, which would send planes at lower altitudes over the heart of the county.
The county went into federal court last week seeking an injunction to stop the FAA from going forward. The FAA had until today to offer a response. This is it.
They blinked, sort of.
The good news is that the plan will not go forward on Monday. The bad news is that the FAA is not saying just how long it will wait. The feds merely are indicating they will hold off implementation “several days.”
Now it appears both sides on this heated issue will await the court’s ruling on the injunction.
The county, which is part of a legal effort that includes 11 other cities and groups from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, is challenging the way the FAA arrived at its recommendation, as well as the environmental effects.
The county also is in court by itself challenging the plan on the environmental issues.
There’s also the matter of the Government Accountability Office, which U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7, convinced to do an investigation of the way the FAA arrived at their recommendation.
That proposal would change the current usual practice for departing flights, which most often follow the Delaware River until they are at an altitude well over 3,000 feet.
That’s the key number. Under the FAA recommendations, three new exit routes come into play, one of which would allow planes to veer out to the west over Delaware County as low as 3,000 feet. Another would affect the southern part of the county, and the third takes planes east over New Jersey.
This is all about time (in terms of the reduction in delays the plague the airport). Nobody is saying it doesn’t need to be addressed. But no one agrees that the FAA’s plan will make much of a dent in the problem. At the same time, the county is making the case that the low flights will cause environmental, noise and quality of life issues.
Think Tinicum Township, which has had to live with the constant rumble of flights from their next-door neighbor for years.
For now all the noise will be in court. As one City Hall fights another. It’s county vs. the feds.
This one is going to be a heavyweight bout. Stay tuned.
Well, it gets a lot easier when City Hall is actually doing some of the fighting.
That’s what appears to be happening in the announcement this week from the Federal Aviation Administration that they would not begin to implement their reviled airport redesign plan for Philadelphia International Airport on Monday, as they had been indicating they would.
The move by the feds was a reaction to the latest volley fired from Delaware County on the heated issue, which would send planes at lower altitudes over the heart of the county.
The county went into federal court last week seeking an injunction to stop the FAA from going forward. The FAA had until today to offer a response. This is it.
They blinked, sort of.
The good news is that the plan will not go forward on Monday. The bad news is that the FAA is not saying just how long it will wait. The feds merely are indicating they will hold off implementation “several days.”
Now it appears both sides on this heated issue will await the court’s ruling on the injunction.
The county, which is part of a legal effort that includes 11 other cities and groups from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, is challenging the way the FAA arrived at its recommendation, as well as the environmental effects.
The county also is in court by itself challenging the plan on the environmental issues.
There’s also the matter of the Government Accountability Office, which U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7, convinced to do an investigation of the way the FAA arrived at their recommendation.
That proposal would change the current usual practice for departing flights, which most often follow the Delaware River until they are at an altitude well over 3,000 feet.
That’s the key number. Under the FAA recommendations, three new exit routes come into play, one of which would allow planes to veer out to the west over Delaware County as low as 3,000 feet. Another would affect the southern part of the county, and the third takes planes east over New Jersey.
This is all about time (in terms of the reduction in delays the plague the airport). Nobody is saying it doesn’t need to be addressed. But no one agrees that the FAA’s plan will make much of a dent in the problem. At the same time, the county is making the case that the low flights will cause environmental, noise and quality of life issues.
Think Tinicum Township, which has had to live with the constant rumble of flights from their next-door neighbor for years.
For now all the noise will be in court. As one City Hall fights another. It’s county vs. the feds.
This one is going to be a heavyweight bout. Stay tuned.
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