Virginians for Dulles

Virginians for Dulles (VFD) was a citizen action group established in 1968 to reduce airport nuisances for northern Virginia citizens--including noise and air pollution--by rerouting airline traffic from Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia to Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia. VFD board leaders inluded S. H. Rasmussen and former Virginia Senator Clive DuVal, 2nd. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, VFD campaigned to curb airline activities at Washington National by altering flight patterns, restricting night flights, and banning excessively noisy stretch-jets. In addition to corresponding with politicians, airport authorities, and other citizens action groups, VFD initiated a legal battle against National Airport authorities that would last for nearly a decade.

Virginians for Dulles (VFD) was a citizen action group established in 1968 to reduce airport nuisances for northern Virginia citizens--including noise and air pollution--by rerouting airline traffic from Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia to Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia. VFD board leaders inluded S. H. Rasmussen and former Virginia Senator Clive DuVal, 2nd. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, VFD campaigned to curb airline activities at Washington National by altering flight patterns, restricting night flights, and banning excessively noisy stretch-jets. In addition to corresponding with politicians, airport authorities, and other citizens action groups, VFD initiated a legal battle against National Airport authorities that would last for nearly a decade.

In 1970 VFD filed a class-action law suit against Washington National Airport, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to assure Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) compliance with the noise- and air-pollution abatement measures stipulated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. The defendants included Secretary of Transportation John Volpe, the head of the FAA, the Director of Airport Services, and eleven major airlines. On May 30, 1972 the District Court ruled to dismiss the plaintiff's action and complaint, contending that the evidence failed to establish a direct link between aircraft noise and the health and property values of local residents and, furthermore, that the plaintiff could not claim to represent the class of citizens constituting the broader population of northern Virginia, on behalf of which VFD filed the suit.

Shortly thereafter, VFD appealed the decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and on June 2, 1976 the Appeals Court upheld the District Court opinion but added an order that the FAA prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) documenting the compliance of Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport with NEPA standards. On August 15, 1979, after the FAA failed to file an environmental impact statement by the stipulated date, VFD filed a motion to hold the Administrator of the FAA in civil contempt. In exchange for withdrawal of the plaintiff's motion for appeal, the defendants agreed to prepare a draft and final EIS and notice of proposed rule making, which was included in a court order issued on September 26, 1979. The defendants filed a notice of compliance with the court order on February 1, 1980 and the motion was withdrawn.

In 1983 Virginians for Dulles changed their name to Greater Washington Citizens for Dulles (GWCD) and continued to pursue litigation against Washington National Airport on other legal grounds, such as airline safety, antitrust, and actions constituting a taking of property. The records included in this collection end in 1984 when GWCD appears to have ceased its activities and disbanded.