Location: U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit | Status: Active
Summary: Save the Sound has filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to prepare a complete and adequate Environmental Impact Study to detail the significant environmental impacts the proposed airport expansion will have on flooding, the surrounding wetlands, and environmental justice communities.
Tweed New Haven Airport is located three miles southeast of downtown New Haven. In 2021, Tweed announced its intentions to extend the airport’s main runway by over 900 feet and construct a new terminal.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conditionally approved of the expansion, pending environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Under NEPA the federal agency must prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to determine whether or not a federal action has the potential to cause significant environmental effects. If the EA determines that the action will cause significant environmental impacts, then the agency must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The regulatory requirements for an EIS are more rigorous and detailed than those for an EA.
Save the Sound submitted a letter (April 2022), testified at a public hearing, and submitted formal comments (May 2023), calling for the agency to prepare a full EIS. The Town of East Haven and many members of the public also submitted comments and testimony. Remarkably, the draft EA assumes the number of passengers using the airport will remain constant despite the fact that a major goal of the expansion is to meet demand and increase passengers. Thus, the emissions from the planes, and their impact on climate change and air quality near the airport, are significantly underestimated. There are numerous other significant problems such as (1) the impacts of a full-length taxiway that would fill coastal wetlands is not included, (2) flood and pollution impacts are not meaningfully evaluated, (3) agency and public comments were ignored, and (4) they did not detail the wetlands mitigation.
Latest Step: The record for appeal has been supplemented and completed.
Next Step: Our brief is due October 16, 2024.
Further Reading:
- ARTICLE: CT Examiner – Tweed Expansion Takes Heat From Top Federal Health Official
- COMMENT LETTER: Save the Sound Letter to FAA, May 2023
- ARTICLE: New Haven Independent – Tweed Publishes Draft Enviro Assessment
- ARTICLE: New Haven Independent – Neighbors Push Back As Tweed Waits For FAA’s Enviro Decision
- ARTICLE: CT Examiner – Officials Laud New Tweed Flights to Puerto Rico, As Locals Protest Airport Expansion
- ARTICLE: Yale Daily News – Tweed’s embattled expansion: How the airport’s growth plan threatens residents and the environment
- PRESS RELEASE: Save the Sound urges FAA to prepare Environmental Impact Statement on proposed Tweed-New Haven Airport expansion
- PRESS RELEASE: Save the Sound to appeal FAA’s Tweed decision
Action Opportunities:
Last Updated: September 26, 2026