El Toro Airport Advocates File Lawsuit in Federal Court Challenging Navy's Environmental Analysis


    Business Editors & Environmental/Transportation Writers

    NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 19, 2002--Supporters of a civilian airport at MCAS El Toro today filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the validity of the Navy's environmental impact statement (EIS) for the disposal and reuse of the closed military base.
    Led by the Airport Working Group of Orange County Inc. (AWG) and joined by the 14 city Orange County Regional Airport Authority (OCRAA), and Citizens for Jobs & the Economy (CJ&E), the lawsuit alleges numerous violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
    "Eight hours after the passage of Measure W, the Navy announced it would sell off El Toro to the highest bidder. With that announcement it mooted eight years of environmental analysis and millions of taxpayers dollars. The purpose of NEPA is for public agencies to disclose the environmental impacts of a proposed project. Since no one knows what will be developed at El Toro, the existing EIS cannot serve that purpose," said Barbara Lichman, AWG legal counsel.
    "Thinking people understand that Measure W's promise of a Great Park was a fraud designed to slow down the development of El Toro Airport. The EIS only analyzes an airport and a theoretical 'Village Park/Business Park.' Thus, under NEPA, the only approved development for El Toro is an airport or high-density Business Park," said Lichman.
    "The City of Irvine's hollow promises of museums, libraries, 100-acre lake, and a Smithsonian West, might have duped Orange County's voters and the Navy -- but the law won't let them get away with it," said Lichman.
    "The Navy and Irvine are attempting to sneak a massive development project into the heart of Orange County without any environmental review," said Lichman.
    The 43-page lawsuit alleges that the Department of Navy's EIS is fatally flawed in numerous areas, including that;
-- The EIS has no analysis of Measure W land uses.
-- The EIS has no cumulative impact analysis of the Irvine General Plan, including the 12,500 homes recently approved by the City.
-- The air quality analysis is deficient and has already been rejected by the California Air Resources Board.

    Measure W passed countywide 58%-42% in March 2002. The measure rezoned the 50-year-old military air base aviation to 'park compatible.' The measure failed in three of five Orange County supervisorial districts where voter turnout was lower than the communities surrounding El Toro that oppose an airport.
    This is the second lawsuit filed since the March 2002 election. The first lawsuit was filed in state court and challenges the constitutionality of Measure W. That action has been transferred to Los Angeles County Superior Court and is scheduled for hearing later this summer.
    "Since the passage of Measure W and the announcement by the Navy that it refuses to give Irvine the land for a Great Park free of charge, the Southern California region has started to wake up to the need for El Toro Airport. The residents and political leadership of Long Beach, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Ontario are all scrambling to make sure Orange County's aviation needs aren't met at their airports. El Toro Airport's regional significance is driving this lawsuit," declared Lichman.
    To receive a copy of the lawsuit, e-mail dellis@ellis-assoc.com.

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    CONTACT: Airport Working Group of Orange County Inc. (AWG)
             Barbara Lichman, 949/474-6967