We're fighting back because the FAA did not include newly affected communities in their decision to drastically alter how and where they would send air traffic over our homes, parks, and protected open spaces and canyons.  Nor did they do any sort of real environmental analysis -- throwing out decades of environemental protections and conventions for how planes fly in and out of airports -- prior to implementing this so-called "modernization" of airspace navigation.  After the FAA made their changes -- without required environmental review and  adquate public notice and comment --  noise complaints went from a handful at both airports to over 430,000 complaints at Van Nuys Airport and almost 2,000,000 complaints at Burbank.  These high numbers reflect the severity of impacts in terms of frequency of air traffic over a narrower area.  In many cases, families have experienced several hundred planes per day flying low over their homes.

There's also the issue of air pollution.  We have a documented study from a UCLA Environmental Sciences professor who confirmed that the black substance being found in our yards is plane soot from these new runways over our homes.

All of this needs to be brought to the attention of a federal court.  Only the judiciary branch (or Congress) has the power to "check" the abuses of the FAA.  We're taking this path, because we been left no other choice.  We've exhausted every other option, and now, we must sue to protect our homes, health, sanity, and way of life.