National Parks & Conservation Ass'n v. U.S. Department of Transportation

National Parks and Conservation Association and Malama Pono (collectively National Parks) are environmental organizations that petition for review of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval of the expansion of Kahului Airport in Maui. National Parks contend *679 that the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., by failing to analyze the impact of the expansion on the introduction of alien, or non-indigenous, species into Maui. National Parks further contend that the FAA violated the Airport and Airway Improvement Act, 49 U.S.C. § 47106 (c)(1)(C), and section 4(f) of the Transportation Act, 49 U.S.C. § 303 (c), both of which govern the impact of transportation projects on the environment.

I

Kahului is Hawaii’s second largest airport after Honolulu International. In addition to inter-island traffic, Kahului serves flights from the mainland United States and, less frequently, Canada. Kahului’s main runway can accommodate the arrival of any size airplane, but is too short for large carriers to take off with a full load of passengers, cargo and fuel. Such aircraft must either fly with a partial load or stop for refueling in…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completed a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed runway extension at Maui’s Kahului Airport on October 2, 1997. The FAA’s Record of Decision (ROD), relying on the Final EIS in approving the runway extension, was signed on August 26, 1998. From the first serious consideration of this project in the 1980s until the preparation of the Final EIS, the FAA was aware that the introduction of alien species into the island ecosystem of Maui was a major concern. Considering the Final EIS as a whole, I reluctantly conclude that the FAA failed to take the requisite “hard look” at the likely impact of the extension on the introduction of alien species.

The Final EIS included a Biological Assessment prepared at the request of the FAA containing, among other things, projected increases in arriving flights due to the runway extension; a Biological Opinion prepared by the Fish and Wildlife Service in compliance with the Endangered Species Act; and numerous scholarly articles. The FAA thus possessed relevant information concerning the likely impact of the project on the introduction of alien…