Monday, May 7, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.
Most of the talk about the right turn issue at McCarran International Airport has centered on noise caused by planes that fly over Las Vegas' western neighborhoods.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman calls the flight pattern a disaster waiting to happen, with hundreds of planes daily flying over an area that has become densely populated in recent years.
It is the less-talked-about impact on the environment, however, that some inside and outside City Hall believe provides the city's best chance for relief from the flights.
Goodman said as much at the April 17 City Council meeting , at which he raised his assessment of the city's odds of prevailing in a lawsuit filed to stop the flights from 20 percent to about 50 percent.
Roughly 200 residents, many from Summerlin, attended that meeting to encourage the city to continue its fight against the Federal Aviation Administration, despite the fact that doing so could cost several hundred thousand dollars.
The dramatic increase in right turn flights - so-called because of the directional change planes make after departing McCarran - began in March, after the FAA determined that the city's complaints had no merit and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the flights to begin.
Although the FAA to date has turned a deaf ear to the noise complaints, Robert Hall, a Las Vegas resident who has had some success battling government agencies in the past, says the FAA may be forced to listen if the Ninth Circuit agrees with his assertion that the agency has not complied with environmental laws.
Hall, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, says the FAA never conducted a complete environmental impact study on the flight pattern's effects and as a result is violating the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to factor environmental values into their decisions.
"Oh, they've done some piecemeal studies here and there and say they haven't found any damage to the environment," said Hall, president of the Nevada Environmental Coalition. "It is the cumulative effect where they will find a problem and they've never put it all together."
But Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman, said the agency did an environmental review and is confident it can withstand any legal challenge.
"The FAA believes the review was thorough, accurate and fully complies with NEPA," Gregor said.
He said although the FAA continues to field calls from residents, the time for public comment has passed and the agency is proceeding on the assumption that the right turn is a permanent part of the valley's aviation plan.
Hall points out that it is not just the planes in the sky that affect the environment. Increased air traffic results in more planes waiting on runways with their engines running, an effect that also must be taken into account, he said.
Randy Walker, director of aviation for Clark County, counters that studies indicate that the right turn actually decreases the amount of wait time on the ground, reducing emissions.
A successful court challenge to the right turn could pose dire economic consequences, he said.
"The constricting factor for growth at McCarran is the airfield," Walker said.
With no room for growth, the airport's flight capacity is restricted to its four current runways. Eliminating the right turn would restrict the number of takeoffs, which in turn would limit the number of passengers who could pass through the airport.
Walker said the airport will be at its passenger capacity when 27,000 more hotel rooms are added, probably within the next three to eight years, based on differing estimates.
If, at that point, right turn takeoffs are not possible, it would reduce the airport's traffic by about 1 million passengers per year, causing a $330 million drop in the region's non gaming revenue.
Despite those projections, many support eliminating the right turn and view an environmental challenge as perhaps the best - perhaps only - way to achieve that.
"There are several components to the lawsuit, and, yes, I would say the environmental impact is a major part of it," said Councilman Steve Wolfson, whose Ward 2 includes Summerlin .
Barbara Lichman, the aviation attorney hired to represent the city, did not return calls.
While Wolfson and his constituents have led the charge against the right turn, Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian and others have been vocal about the impact on other Las Vegas neighborhoods as well.
"This is not just a Summerlin issue or a Ward 2 issue - it is a citywide concern," Tarkanian said.
Goodman has said his primary concern is safety, but adds that he wants to see all relevant issues, including the environmental impact, explored.
Walker has agreed to meet with city officials in the next few weeks to discuss the matter.
Although a meeting is a long way from a compromise, Wolfson is encouraged.
"I'm happy that they are willing to sit across the table from us and talk about this," he said.
But despite the attempt at civility, all sides agree the issue probably will be eventually be decided in court.
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