Taos municipal airport expansion

Location: Taos

Opposing Parties: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); Town of Taos

Initiation Date: June 1994

Status: On-going

Clients/Partners: Taos Pueblo

Attorneys: Douglas Meiklejohn

Issues:

The Law Center represents Taos Pueblo in efforts to prevent or limit expansion of the Taos municipal airport, which would impair religious practices by Pueblo members, threaten the iconic architecture of the Pueblo, and increase development pressure on their living culture - the basis for its designation as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In 2003, the FAA conducted a noise analysis that offered the conclusion that a Cessna overflight is no louder than a thunderclap.  Our clients assert that comparing a twin-engine aircraft to an act of nature illustrates the administration’s lack of cultural sensitivity.

We are in continuing negotiations with the FAA to prevent the expansion of the airport, or to mitigate its impacts on the Pueblo.

Latest News:

August 2009 - Negotiations with the FAA are continuing.