The SAMP and opportunities for change in the next three months
Happy New Year to everyone who has followed and supported us since 2016. The coming year is going to be big and we’re changing in a few ways to try to keep up. The first thing you’ll notice is more frequent communications, which we’ll push out to our mailings lists, Facebook and Twitter/X.
The new timeline
In yet another plot twist, the FAA is now expected to provide a decision on its environmental review of the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) as early as February. Six months earlier than we’d been previously told. If (as expected) the FAA approves the plan, any interested parties will have sixty (60) days to file an appeal. That was the point of all those comments you wrote – to provide ammunition for the appeal we always expected we would need.
For us, the only thing that has changed is the velocity of the SAMP, which has now accelerated from zero to eleven. So any advocacy we do must happen now. It cannot wait even a few months because so many critical decisions will have been made by then.
Without an appeal, the Port will move forward to the state environmental review (SEPA) and approval by September. That kind of certainty is unusual in mega-projects. But it’s the kind of confidence you can only have when you’re both the developer and the permitting agency. In the bizarre world of the SAMP, the Port isn’t just developing the project – they’re also reviewing and approving their own permits.
Given this latest news, and since the process has dragged on for twelve years, you have every right to feel confused or hopeless or both. But despite all the challenges, and despite what anyone tells you, we can do something about the SAMP. However, if we’re going to do it, it has to be now and it has to be the right things.
We’ll have some specific action items very soon.
The next step is Olympia
We are counting on help from our state legislators in the 33rd District (the four cities around the airport – Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac) and also the 34th and 30th. Typically, state legislation is proposed early in January. So that is another very tight window. To add to the urgency, they are also having quite a year. Long time Senator Keiser has retired, her place being taken by (former) Rep. Tina Orwall. And Ms. Orwall’s place is now being taken by appointee Edwin Obras. And as if that weren’t enough change, there are new city managers in all four cities! Two signed contracts within the past two months!
The good news is that the majority of our legislative agenda was adopted by the City of Des Moines. The bad news is that other cities have thus far not followed suit. More on this very soon.
The bigger picture
Our community includes many passionate advocates working on crucial long-term goals – from addressing aviation’s climate impact to changing flights. These initiatives are vital for our future. However, 2025 presents people living under the flight path with a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to secure immediate protections for airport communities.
Our legislative window is narrow, and our representatives have limited bandwidth for airport-related issues. While broader aviation reforms are essential, experience shows that focusing on concrete, achievable goals – like sound insulation, air quality monitoring, and direct community compensation – gives us the best chance for meaningful change this year.
In fact, securing these immediate protections strengthens our position for pursuing longer-term reforms. By demonstrating that airport communities can effectively advocate for change, we build credibility and momentum for bigger transformations. But if we miss this moment to establish basic protections during the SAMP process, we lose our strongest leverage for years to come.
This is why we’re asking all airport advocates to join us in prioritizing these specific, achievable goals for the 2025 legislative session. Together, we can secure immediate relief for impacted residents while laying the groundwork for the broader changes our region needs.
Good news from unexpected places
Despite all the challenges, the irony is that having the SAMP Draft EA makes 2025 the year we can finally make a difference. To explain why we’re so confident, we’ll close with some very good advice from an unexpected source: Alaska Airlines. In 2018 they wrote the following letter to the Port of Seattle. In it they strongly encourage the Port to conduct a full EIS instead of the awful Draft EA we ended up with. They argued very persuasively that by having a better process up front, it would end up saving the Port and everyone in the airline business time and money from the inevitable community opposition.
Let’s prove them right.
Miles, Paula, Steve, Idé and JC
…on behalf of STNI