Citizens Against Burlington v. Busey
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
938 F.2d 190 (1991)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority (port authority) planned to expand its airport facilities to become a cargo hub and to bring jobs and revenue to Toledo. The port authority requested permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (defendant) for the project and hired Coffman Associates, Inc. (Coffman) to prepare an environmental-impact statement. Local residents and people who used a park that would be impacted by the plans formed a group named Citizens Against Burlington, Inc. (citizens) (plaintiff) to oppose the project. The FAA used Coffman’s environmental-impact statement to evaluate the noise and other environmental impacts of (1) the proposed project and (2) no project at all. The citizens argued that the FAA must also consider expanding an airport in an alternate city, but the FAA determined that this alternative was not feasible or prudent because it did not serve the project’s goal of improving Toledo’s economy. The FAA determined that the proposed project’s impacts were acceptable and approved the plans. The citizens sued to stop the project, challenging the FAA’s decision and pointing out that Coffman had not filed a mandatory conflict-of-interest disclosure statement.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Thomas, J.)
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