FAA urged to extend JWA caps

June Casagrande

Adding a little muscle to the city’s push to secure the John Wayne

Settlement Agreement extension, Rep. Chris Cox on Friday met with the

new head of the Federal Aviation Administration to plead the case for

containing airport expansion.

“This is the No. 1 issue on my local agenda,” Cox said in a

statement. “I made it clear to the FAA that we must extend the

curfews and other noise restrictions at John Wayne Airport.”

Cox requested the meeting with Marion Blakely, who in September

was named administrator of the agency, to urge support for the

settlement agreement extension.

Some in the city fear that the fate of the extended settlement

agreement could rest on whether the FAA or the Air Transport Assn.

would challenge it in court. The agency has yet to weigh in with its

position on the John Wayne Settlement Agreement.

City leaders say they are hopeful that the agreement will stand.

But any help they can get, especially from someone with Cox’s

influence is welcome.

“We’re hoping to get a letter from the FAA acknowledging and

accepting that negotiated agreement with the city,” Mayor Tod

Ridgeway said. “We’re cautiously optimistic that they will be

supportive of the extension agreement.”

In a meeting that Cox described as positive, the congressman

explained the importance of extending noise controls, curfews and

other restrictions outlined in the settlement agreement.

The original settlement agreement is set to expire in 2005. It

allows no more than 73 of the noisiest flights each year and it

capped the number of passengers at 8.4 million.

The new agreement would allow 85 of the noisiest flights and would

raise to 9.8 million the number of passengers each year --

concessions city leaders hope will be enough to win the support of

the airlines and national aviation authorities. These terms would

apply for 20 years.

When the settlement agreement extension was approved in June by

all the parties in the original suit, the city shifted its attention

to Washington, D.C. as the final battlefront for finalizing the

agreement.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.