Article Summary:
The Port of Seattle sincerely thanks everyone who participated in the 90-day public comment period for the Sustainable Airport Master Plan Near-Term Projects Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Whether you submitted a comment, attended a public hearing or community meeting, joined the virtual meeting, participated in a listening session, or took time to review the Draft EIS and supporting materials, your involvement was an important part of this process. We recognize the time and thought it takes to engage with a document of this scale, and we appreciate the many community members, Tribes, public agencies, local governments, businesses, and organizations that shared their perspectives and lived experiences.
Community participation is essential to a thorough and meaningful environmental review, and the close of the comment period is not the end of the process. The Port is now reviewing each comment received during the formal comment period. That input will inform preparation of the Final SEPA EIS, which will respond to substantive comments on the Draft EIS and include a record of all official comments. The Port plans to provide an update in the coming months, and people who subscribe to SAMP email updates will be notified when the final document is released.
As part of this process, the Port worked closely with community-based organizations, local governments, business and labor partners, airport workers, neighborhood groups, and other community leaders to make information and participation broadly available. We offered five in-person public hearings, a virtual meeting and listening session, presentations, community conversations, multilingual advertising, videos, and updates through email, social media updates, and direct outreach to near-airport communities. We provided information about the public meetings to 125,000 residences, and translated environmental review materials into Amharic, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian Khmer, and French. More than 200 people took time to attend our public hearings, providing over 100 comments.
Thank you for being a part of this important process. Your input helps the Port make informed and transparent decisions about the future of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the communities it serves.