ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20194
No(s). 18-2360 (4th Cir. Aug 11, 2020)

The Fourth Circuit dismissed a petition to vacate or set aside the FAA's modification to a series of flight routes that caused residents of historic areas of a county in Maryland to endure "insufferable levels of noise." The county argued that the FAA failed to comply with environmental statutes and regulations when assessing the modification's likely noise impacts. FAA moved to dismiss, arguing the petition was untimely because it was filed more than 60 days after the issuance of the agency's relevant order and the county failed to show reasonable grounds for not filing on time. The court agreed, finding that the county unreasonably waited 110 days to demand voluntary relief from the FAA as a first resort, and six months for the agency to come to the table. It therefore dismissed the petition.