Gary Idleburg

Mr Idleburg is with the Washington Department Of Commerce and is directing the Stakeholders-

The Washington state Department of Commerce is hiring a consultant to study the ongoing noise and public health impacts of fast-growing Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The department has issued a request for proposals giving potential consultant-bidders until March 15 to make pitches in a competitive process for the $500,000 contract.

Lawmakers in Olympia passed legislation requesting the detailed Sea-Tac Airport impact study in March 2018. The state Senate required Commerce to hire a consultant to evaluate Sea-Tac Airport operations impacts on residents’ quality of life, including:

air traffic noise, vehicle traffic and congestion and public health.
parking in residential areas, pedestrian access to and around the airport.
public safety and crime within the cities near the airport.
effects on residential and non-residential property values;
economic development opportunities.

The study will examine and report on the “current and on-going effects of the operation of Sea-Tac Airport, and study regional changes relating to on-going functions of Sea-Tac Airport “with a baseline year of 1997 and emphasis on the years 2008-2018.”

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has become one of the fastest-growing airports in the U.S., with operations up 23 percent between 2014 and 2016, the state agency said.

Passenger traffic has surged at Sea-Tac Airport as the Port of Seattle-owned facility has added a slew of carriers and flight services, with both domestic and international airlines expanding offering here. The facility said that passenger traffic volume hit 49.9 million in 2018, up from 32.8 million in 2011.