Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion v. City of Los Angeles

An organization commenced a lawsuit challenging a licensing agreement approved by the City of Los Angeles that would allow the manager of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to grant “Transportation Network Companies” such as Uber, Sidecar, and Lyft permits to conduct operations at LAX. The organization alleged that the City had violated CEQA by improperly using categorical exemptions to avoid environmental review. The organization said the categorical exemptions were not appropriate because the action would result in an increase in the use of vehicles not subject to clean fleet vehicle rules. Among the potential impacts alleged by the organization was a substantial increase in carbon monoxide emissions; the petition cited carbon monoxide’s health effects, but also its “important indirect effects on global warming” due to its reaction in the atmosphere with hydroxyl radicals that would otherwise reduce the lifetimes of strong greenhouse gases such as methane.