A suit filed Nov. 1 by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on behalf of the state Department of Environmental Protection asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd District in New York to rescind the new flight paths officially brought the state into the fray.
The FAA released its voluminous plan, which is the result of nine years' research, in September.
"We're not being supplied with truthful information," Mr. Marconi claimed. "All they've done is look at their own planes," he observed of the FAA's study. "They haven't looked at general aviation."
"If traffic comes in over the area, it will push down general aviation," he said, describing the impact on the smaller, privately owned planes as "similar to taking I-95 and putting it over our heads."
By 2011, the day-night average sound level of the planes in the FAA system would, according to computations by the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency, move from 5.1 to 7.5 decibels in the New Milford area if the redesign holds, with an increase of three decibels representing a doubling of noise.
Mr. Marconi said there was no real benefit from the FAA plan to those who would be impacted by the redesign. "It's a greening of the bottom line," he said, noting that the new paths with a gentler slide slope would reduce the use of fuel on the part of the largely commercial planes.
With the addition of New Milford, the alliance that its Town Council approved joining currently functions independently of the action brought by the state. The Town Council will seek the appropriation of $85,000 from the New Milford Board of Finance to fund the town's participation.
Currently, the alliance consists largely of towns in Connecticut-New Canaan, Wilton, Danbury, Darien, Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Bridgewater and New Milford-and also Pound Ridge in New York.
The Alliance for Sensitive Airspace Planning, as the group of municipalities is known, has a budget of $1 million. Of that, the group is presently allocating at least $500,000 for legal fees, with $180,000 dedicated to lobbying and $200,000 for the grass-roots effort. The alliance filed its own petition Nov. 2 against the FAA scheme in the 2nd circuit court in New York.
The municipalities that have joined pay $30,000 as an entrance fee, with the rest of the cost of their participation in the fight determined on a per capita basis, Mr. Marconi said. He said as additional towns join-he scheduled to speak Dec. 12 to the Board of Finance in Brookfield-those costs may come down. He also said that aggressive efforts on the part of the state may reduce costs. Municipalities could withdraw from the alliance at any time, he said.
Mr. Burke said that there are currently no plans for Mr. Marconi to come and speak to officials in his town even though the Ridgefield first selectman has offered to do so.
Mr. Burke said that he had asked during a recent Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) meeting whether this was a case that the towns could win.
"The answer that came back to me was 'No, it's a delaying procedure,'" Mr. Burke said.
He added that he can't see spending money on something when victory apparently isn't likely.
"Do you go to the track and pick a losing horse?" Mr. Burke said.
He added that he does not think that the proposed changes would affect Bethel as much as they would other area towns.
Mr. Marconi observed that the FAA has already hired legal counsel. "Never before has the FAA sought outside council," he said. Of the state's action in early November, he remarked, "Better late than never."
He noted that the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have already sought legal redress from the FAA's airspace redesign, making Connecticut more vulnerable to increased flights in its airspace should it not act on its own behalf.
In his action, Mr. Blumenthal faulted the FAA for failing to consider environmental and quality of life issues. He also noted that the FAA had not factored the impact of noise on residents and states into its decision.
"The FAA needs to cool its jets and change course," Mr. Blumenthal has said.
Indeed, the report the FAA released said, "Noise reduction is not a Purpose and Need for Airspace Redesign. In the case of the national airspace redesign (NAR), reduction of noise is not appropriately identified as a Purpose," although the report said the FAA had committed to using techniques where feasible and appropriate to reduce airport noise and other potential environmental impacts.
The Record of Decision released Sept. 5 by the FAA noted that the FAA had looked at the increase in traffic levels, safety, delays, and changes in the types of aircraft in navigable airspace in an airspace structure that had been designed in the 1960s. The last large-scale airspace changes were made in 1988, according to the report.
Staff Reporter B.J. O'Brien contributed to this story.