Helicopter Ass'n International, Inc. v. Federal Aviation Administration

722 F.3d 430, 406 U.S. App. D.C. 169, 2013 WL 3481537, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 14109
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJuly 12, 2013
DocketNo. 12-1335
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 722 F.3d 430 (Helicopter Ass'n International, Inc. v. Federal Aviation Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Helicopter Ass'n International, Inc. v. Federal Aviation Administration, 722 F.3d 430, 406 U.S. App. D.C. 169, 2013 WL 3481537, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 14109 (D.C. Cir. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion for the Court by Circuit Judge ROGERS.

ROGERS, Circuit Judge:

The Helicopter Association International, Inc. (“HAI”), challenges the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) to issue a rule requiring helicopter pilots to use a route one mile off the north shore of Long Island, New York for the purpose of noise abatement in residential areas. Because this challenge fails, and because HAI’s other contentions regarding the lack of substantial evidence, deviation from FAA policy, and a flawed Regulatory Flexibility Act certification are unpersuasive, we deny the petition for review.

I.

Prior to 2008, helicopter pilots flying between New York City and eastern Long Island typically chose between three routes: (1) the northern coast of Long Island; (2) the Long Island Expressway through the middle of the island; or (3) the southern coast of Long Island. Many pilots preferred to travel the north shore route when traveling to south shore destinations like the Hamptons, because that route was faster and less likely to encounter weather delays common along the [171]*171south shore. As a result, the north shore route experienced significant helicopter traffic. In response to complaints about the helicopter noise, the FAA developed the North Shore Helicopter Route, which it added to the New York Helicopter Route Chart in 2008. This route, which was voluntary, diverted helicopter traffic from populated areas on the north shore of Long Island to the waters of Long Island Sound.

When elected officials and FAA’s Flight Standards District Office continued to receive complaints about helicopter noise on the north shore, the FAA in 2010 proposed to make the North Shore Route mandatory. See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 75 Fed.Reg. 29,471, 29,472 (May 26, 2010) (“NPRM”). Upon receiving approximately 900 comments — from residents, local government, citizen groups, businesses, and various trade associations — the FAA determined that “[s]lightly more than a third of the total number of commenters complained about the levels of helicopter noise that they are exposed to, particularly during the summer months,” and issued the final rule in 2012. The New York North Shore Helicopter Route, 77 Fed.Reg. 39,-911, 39,913 (July 6, 2012) (“Final Rule ”).

The FAA found that “residents along the north shore of Long Island emphatically agreed that helicopter overflights during the summer months are unbearable and negatively impact their quality of life.” Id. at 39,913. Assisted by the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in analyzing data from the Performance Data Analysis and Reporting System (“PDARS”), the FAA “modeled noise from approximately 15,600 flight operations, based on an average of 42.8 operations per day over 11 days around Memorial Day and July 4, 2011,” two of the busiest helicopter traffic weekends of the year. Id. at 39,914, 39,916 n. 7. This data was used to calculate north shore day-night average sound levels (“DNLs”), which consist of “the 24-hour average sound level, in decibels, for the period from midnight to midnight, obtained after the addition of ten decibels to sound levels for the periods between midnight and 7 a.m., and between 10 p.m., and midnight, local time.” 14 C.F.R. § 150.7. The FAA found that the sound levels, which were below DNL 45 dB, were “below levels at which homes are significantly impacted.” Final Rule, 77 Fed.Reg. at 39,916.

In promulgating the Final Rule, the FAA did not change the existing route that had been in use for several years but explained that “[mjaximizing the utilization of the existing route by making it mandatory will secure and improve upon the decreased levels of noise that have been voluntarily achieved.” Final Rule, 77 Fed. Reg. at 39,914. Because “safety is [the FAA’s] highest priority,” id., exceptions were provided for helicopters not adequately outfitted to travel the route safely and for pilots who determine route deviation is required because of weather or a need to transition to or from a destination or point of landing. Id. at 39,914-15. The rule will be provisional for two years, after which the FAA will sunset it upon determining “there is no meaningful improvement in the effects of helicopter noise on quality of life or that the rule is otherwise unjustified.” Id. at 39,918. If there is improvement, the FAA may make the rule permanent “after appropriate notice and opportunity for comment.” Id. Or, if “reasonable modifications [can] be made to the route to better address noise concerns ... [, the FAA] may choose to modify the rule after notice and comment.” Id. Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. § 605, the FAA certified that because the Final Rule would impose minimal costs on regulated small entities, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not required. Final [172]*172Rule, 77 Fed.Reg. at 39,919-20. HAI petitions for review.

II.

HAI challenges the Final Rule on four grounds, contending first that the FAA lacks authority to alter air traffic patterns for the sole purpose of reducing the impact of aircraft noise on residential communities. As authority for the rule, the FAA relied on 49 U.S.C. § 40103 and § 44715. Section 40103(b) addresses “the use of the navigable airspace” and provides in subsection (b)(2) that “[t]he Administrator shall prescribe air traffic regulations on the flight of aircraft (including regulations on safe altitudes) for ... protecting individuals and property on the ground.” Section 44715 authorizes the FAA to set standards to measure aircraft noise and to prescribe regulations to control and abate aircraft noise. 49 U.S.C. § 44715(a)(1)(A)© & (ii).

In HAI’s view, Congress has established a relatively narrow framework under which the FAA can regulate noise. HAI maintains that the FAA’s general authority under § 40103 is limited by its focus on safety in subsection (b)(1), and by other provisions that address the FAA’s authority to regulate noise through technology certification, see id. § 44715(a)(1), and in and around airports, see id. §§ 47501 et seq., § 47521 et seq. Viewing these provisions together, HAI concludes that the FAA cannot escape the limits on its jurisdiction to regulate noise by relying on its general authority in § 40103.

In support of its position, HAI relies on American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, 52 F.3d 1113 (D.C.Cir.1995), where the court, upon reviewing a rule on a renewable oxygenate requirement, held the agency could not “rely on its general authority to make rules necessary to carry out its functions when a specific statutory directive defines the relevant functions of [the agency] in a particular area.” Id. at 1119. In that case, Congress set a specific objective of reducing emissions of ozone-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs). See id. at 1115. Relying on its general rulemaking authority, 42 U.S.C. § 7601

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jonathan Corbett v. TSA
19 F.4th 478 (D.C. Circuit, 2021)
Avmed, Inc. v. Azar
District of Columbia, 2021
National Mining Association v. U.S. Department of Labor
985 F.3d 1309 (Eleventh Circuit, 2021)
State of Maryland v. Stephen Dickson
952 F.3d 288 (D.C. Circuit, 2020)
Ciox Health, LLC v. Hargan
District of Columbia, 2020
American Health Care Ass'n v. Burwell
217 F. Supp. 3d 921 (N.D. Mississippi, 2016)
Associated Dog Clubs of New York State, Inc. v. Vilsack
75 F. Supp. 3d 83 (District of Columbia, 2014)
['ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS, INC. v. SHIU']
30 F. Supp. 3d 25 (District of Columbia, 2014)
Florida Bankers Association v. United States Department of Treasury
19 F. Supp. 3d 111 (District of Columbia, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
722 F.3d 430, 406 U.S. App. D.C. 169, 2013 WL 3481537, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 14109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/helicopter-assn-international-inc-v-federal-aviation-administration-cadc-2013.