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 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. It pointed out numerous flaws in the EA, showing that FAA failed to consider the actual number of passengers this expansion would bring to the airport, failed to analyze the connected taxiway extension, and failed to analyze and mitigate localized flooding, stormwater pollution, and impacts on wetlands.
In February 2024, Save the Sound and the Town of East Haven filed an appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. In November 2024, Save the Sound filed a brief jointly with the Town of East Haven, arguing that the FAA failed to meaningfully analyze and mitigate impacts of the proposed expansion, despite the airport being in a floodplain, in a residential neighborhood, and in a state-designated environmental justice area. For these reasons, we argued that the Court should vacate the EA and remand it to the FAA with direction to perform a more detailed and comprehensive EIS that includes necessary mitigation measures.
FAA filed its brief in March 2025, and in June 2025, Save the Sound and the Town of East Haven filed their reply. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held oral argument on December 12, 2025.
Next Step: The Court will issue its ruling.
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: December 23, 2026