National Trade Association
Negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding for the Airlines
When California was developing its State Implementation Plan, federal and state agency officials demanded emissions reductions from the airlines. Our client, a national trade association for the airlines, turned to Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. to engage the agencies and help respond to the regulators' demands.
With years of experience in representing the airlines, our attorneys quickly gained the confidence of regulators during early negotiations. We helped the client convince the state and local regulators that they did not have the authority to regulate aircraft emissions, that they likely did not have the authority to regulate ground support equipment either, but that the airlines would be willing to enter into a voluntary agreement to reduce emissions from such equipment if the terms were fair and cost-effective.
The California Air Resources Board agreed. Beveridge & Diamond attorneys then took the lead and drafted a Memorandum of Understanding that was a win-win solution: California was able to achieve significant emissions reductions from the airlines, but in a way that was technically feasible and economically practicable for the industry. And, by avoiding a rulemaking in California, we set a precedent for addressing these issues for other states.
