Commissioners, After many years of preparation, the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) will finally swing into gear this summer. For me, there is an eerie resemblance between today and the last expansion at Sea-Tac Airport–the Third Runway. As you know, the Port was granted permission to begin construction of the Third Runway in 1996 based
Remote Works Better
Introduction One small silver-lining from 2020 is the broad realization that a great deal of work can now be done as well or even better without travel. Reducing unnecessary travel is the single most immediate and efficient way to mitigate climate change. Not only is it practically ‘free’, it actually saves time and money for
Des Moines Water District #54 Tower
The King County Water District 54 reservoir is located in Des Moines on 11th Avenue between City Hall and the Police Department. Effects of airplane exhaust An interesting way to see the effects of airplane exhaust from take-offs heading south from Sea-Tac Airport is to look at this tower. Here are two pictures taken on
The Sea-Tac Airport Annual Air Quality Monitoring Proposal (STAAQM)
This post describes a proposal we have put forward to Washington State legislators Senator Karen Keiser (33rd) and Representative Jesse Johnson (30th). In one sentence, we want an annual report of all key aviation-related emissions for every neighborhood affected by the operations from Sea-Tac Airport. We refer to this proposal as Sea-Tac Airport Annual Air
A Letter To Congressman Adam Smith – AQM
The Sea-Tac Annual Air Quality Monitoring Program – a proposal Background Since 1971 there have roughly thirteen ‘studies’ of various air toxins around Sea-Tac Airport. We put the word ‘studies’ in air quotes because almost all of them have been limited either to a single toxin or to a subset of the complete Sea-Tac air
Community Mitigation Efforts Around Sea-Tac Airport For 2021
A speech to the Des Moines/Normandy Park Rotary Club December 9, 2020 By JC Harris You know that old aphorism “Fish don’t know they’re wet.”? That’s kinda how it goes for airport communities. And especially Sea-Tac Airport. Background Before I moved here in ’94, I worked as a consulting engineer in Detroit for many years.
Letter to electeds on the importance of data collection
This letter is in support of a legislative proposal we have made concerning air quality monitors around Sea-Tac Airport. Senator Keiser, Rep. Orwall, Rep. Johnson. I know how busy you all are. I hope you will take 4 minutes to listen to this very good piece of audio. You can start at about 1:40. https://seatacnoise.info/otm111320_cms1067654_pod/
A letter to the Commissioners Of The Port Of Seattle on the 2021 Tax Levy
This is in response to the 11/10/2020 Port Of Seattle’s Regular Commission Meeting. As a Port District, the Port is allowed to enact a property tax, colloquially referred to as the ‘Tax Levy’. It is typically only a few dollars for every resident. Unlike other Port revenue, use of the Tax Levy is almost totally
A letter to Tina Orwall: Air Quality Monitor Proposal
Hi Rep. Orwall, Thank you for your time on the phone today. BACKGROUND As I said, I have a lot of experience as a consultant with the environmental monitoring and mitigation process of conventional businesses (ie. where NEPA is governed by EPA.) It has always been annoying to me that the airport (being governed by
A letter to the Commissioners Of The Port Of Seattle re. Motion 2020-04 (Accelerated Sound Insulation Program)
Commissioners, I want to thank you again for your 25 February 2020 vote on Motion 2020-04. As you know, this action was taken to accelerate your sound insulation program (known as Port Packages) and also take advantage of new State legislation HB2315 which enables the Port to provide updates and repairs to existing systems. We