Paskar v. City of New York

3 F. Supp. 3d 129, 78 ERC (BNA) 1731, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32135, 2014 WL 956288
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided March 10, 2014·No. No. 13 Civ. 5897 (PAC)·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

Honorable PAUL A. CROTTY, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Kenneth D. Paskar and Friends of LaGuardia Airport, Inc. (“FOLA”) (a not-for-profit corporation which advocates for the elimination of aviation safety hazards — Mr. Paskar is the President), bring this action against the City of New York and the New York City Department of Sanitation (“DSNY”) (collectively, “Defendants”), claiming that the construction and operation of the North Shore Marine Transfer Station in College Point, Queens, immediately across Flushing Bay from LaGuardia Airport, violates the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(A).1 They seek declaratory and injunctive relief because of the City’s and DSNY’s alleged failure to comply with 40 C.F.R. § 258.102 and 49 U.S.C. § 44718(a).3 (Am.Compl., ¶¶2, 3). Plaintiff alleges that the construction and operation of the North Shore Marine Transfer Station (“NSMTS”) is “an aviation hazard due to the fact it will increase the risk of bird strikes” (Am. Compl., ¶ 3); and “building a garbage dump at the end of Runway 31 at LaGuar-dia is a ludicrous idea.” (PI. Opp. Memo, at 3.) The gravamen of Mr. Paskar’s and FOLA’s complaint is that the garbage and waste received and processed at the NSMTS will attract birds which will in turn cause airplanes to fall “from the sky due to a bird strike at LaGuardia.”4 (Id. at 4). Review of the construction and operation of the facility is sought because the facility allegedly violates the RCRA.

Defendants move to dismiss the Amended Complaint for two reasons: (1) the transfer facility is not a municipal solid waste landfill (“MSWLF”), and is not sub[131] ject to 40 C.F.R. 258; and (2) in any event, there is no private right of action to enforce 49 U.S.C. § 44718(a)(1) and (2). Plaintiffs respond that (1) the allegation that the North Shore Marine Transfer Station meets the definition of a landfill under the RCRA and should be regulated as such, raises a question of fact sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss; and (2) though not explicit, there is an implied private right of action under 49 U.S.C. § 44718(a)(1) and (2).

For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

This is not Plaintiffs’ first trip to the Courthouse to stop the construction of the NSMTS. Similar arguments have been made to federal and state courts, as well as federal and state agencies on four prior occasions. None has been successful. In order to put the current pleading in context, however, each of them is briefly summarized:

(1) Plaintiffs initiated an administrative challenge before the Federal Aviation Agency (“FAA”), pursuant to 14 C.F.R. Part 16, claiming that the City’s construction of the NSMTS violated various assurances made in agreements between the FAA and the Port Authority of N.Y. and N.J. (“Port Authority”) for funding of La-Guardia Airport. The FAA found that the City was neither a signatory nor a party to the grant agreements, nor was the City a proper “respondent” under 14 C.F.R. § 16.3. While the City owns the land on which LaGuardia Airport is built, it is neither a sponsor nor an operator of the airport within the meaning of the regulation.

Upon review of the FAA’s administrative determination, the Second Circuit held that

[The FAA’s] factual findings were supported by substantial evidence, and its application of the law to the facts is not arbitrary or capricious, or an abuse of discretion, or otherwise contrary to law.... Although the City owns the land upon which LaGuardia Airport sits, the Port Authority is the operator of LaGuardia and leases the land from the City. The City does not qualify as a ‘sponsor’ under the terms of the grant agreement, statute, see 49 U.S.C. § 47102(26) or regulations, see 14 C.F.R. § 16.3, because it is not an agency that receives financial assistance from the FAA. The City is not a ‘proprietor’ because ownership alone is not sufficient to warrant proprietor status as the City does not ‘operate’ the airport.

Paskar v. F.A.A., 478 Fed.Appx. 707, 708 (2d Cir.2012).

(2) Plaintiffs initiated an Article 78 proceeding against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) and DSNY in December, 2010. Plaintiffs complained of the on-going construction of the NSMTS, especially in light of the hazard of bird strikes. In that connection, Plaintiffs cited the bird strikes that occurred at LaGuardia when migratory birds collided with U.S. Airways, Flight 1548, upon takeoff on January 15, 2009. But for the great skills of the captain, co-captain and the crew, the flight would have ended in disaster, instead of resulting' in the “Miracle on the Hudson.” Notwithstanding this vivid example of the danger of bird strikes, the DEC refused Plaintiffs’ demand to conduct further studies before proceeding with the construction of the NSMTS. Instead of doing an entire reanalysis, DEC merely modified its permit to include DSNY’s agreement to amend the DEC permit to include airways’ warning lights of the NSMTS.

[132] The New York State Supreme Court held that FOLA had no standing to commence and maintain the action against the City since it was not incorporated at the time Paskar commenced the Article 78 proceeding. While Mr. Paskar had standing to challenge the DEC’s failure to respond to his November 12, 2010 letter demanding that DEC conduct a new study, Mr. Paskar could not “compel the DEC or the DSNY to act in any particular manner in connection with the subject permit.... [I]t is for the DEC, and not the Court, to determine whether a permit issued by said agency should [be] modified, suspended, or revoked.” Paskar v. Dep’t of Envtl. Conservation, 33 Misc.3d 1226(A), 2011 WL 5925035 at *5-6 (N.Y.Sup.Ct. Queens Cnty.2011). Mr. Paskar’s petition was dismissed. Id. at *6.

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Paskar v. City of New York, 3 F. Supp. 3d 129, 78 ERC (BNA) 1731, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32135, 2014 WL 956288 (S.D.N.Y. 2014).

3 F. Supp. 3d 129 (Paskar v. City of New York) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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