East Haven State Rep. Joe Zullo Rails Against FAA in Response to Appeals Court Decision in Case Involving Proposed Tweed Airport Expansion
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Joe Zullo criticized the FAA’s environmental review of the proposed Tweed New Haven Airport expansion.
- Zullo cited severe flooding near the proposed terminal as evidence that the project’s environmental effects require closer scrutiny.
- He pledged to advocate for extensive review and mitigation measures when local and state regulators consider the proposal.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/21/2026
Regarding today's decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit regarding the Federal Aviation Administration's approval of the proposed runway extension and terminal improvements at Tweed New Haven Airport, East Haven State Rep. Joe Zullo (R, 99) released the following statement:
“Today’s technical decision is as disappointing as it is ironic. The decision comes on a day when the intersection of Short Beach Road and Hemingway Avenue, the gateway intersection to the proposed new airport terminal, is impassable and blocked off by public safety barricades due to severe flooding.
In this case, the Federal Aviation Administration (the “FAA”) chose to prepare an “Environmental Assessment,” (an “EA”) as opposed to a more extensive “Environmental Impact Statement” (an “EIS”). When the FAA made the decision to pursue the less comprehensive standard of review of this proposal, it made an implicit finding that the proposed runway extension and new terminal would not have “reasonably foreseeable significant impacts.” On a day like today, that decision feels laughable.
Perhaps from cubicles in office buildings in Washington, far removed from the intersection of Hemingway Avenue and Short Beach Road, FAA bureaucrats have a hard time imagining the impacts of this massive proposal. However, here in East Haven, on a day like today, it is clearly foreseeable that in a town that has already endured a history of environment justice impacts, and in an area prone to repetitive and severe flooding, that constructing a massive new transportation hub with tens of thousands of square feet of impervious parking surface will have substantial, harmful impacts.
It is obvious to anyone with two eyes and a little common sense that this project will require extensive mitigation measures to prevent severe environmental impacts, including the exacerbation of the very flooding conditions we’re witnessing today near the site of the proposed new airport terminal.
If and when local and State regulatory bodies take up review of this proposal, residents can count on my strong voice in favor of common sense. Residents can count on me to demand the extensive, meaningful review of the clearly foreseeable impacts this proposal will have and which the FAA has turned a blind eye to. And residents can rest assured that I will always fight to protect the best interests of our community and give a voice to those most impacted by the proposed expansion of Tweed airport and who likely feel disappointed, marginalized, and steamrolled by today’s decision.”
***
For additional information, visit www.repzullo.com or contact Rep. Zullo at 203-927-0871.