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League Of Quiet Skies Voters Announced

Citizen groups and activists from communities neighboring Sea-Tac Airport, including Quiet Skies Puget Sound, Burien’s Quiet Skies Coalition, the Federal Way Air Noise Alliance, and The Briefing Project, have formed the new “League of Quiet Skies Voters,” to assure that impacts from recent and proposed airport expansion on human health and the environment are a focal point for the 2019 election cycle.

The announcement was made during Tuesday’s (Feb. 26) Port of Seattle Commission Meeting.

Here’s more from the group’s organizers:

“The Port of Seattle and airport added 97,000 annual flights since 2014, and want another 80,000 flights,” said Quiet Skies Puget Sound founder Sheila Brush. “This growth is inconsistent with the avalanche of new science – particularly including the World Health Organization’s new 2018 Environmental Noise Guidelines – which requires immediate action by policymakers to reduce aircraft overflight noise. The science shows that noise, and particularly nighttime aircraft noise, causes increases in high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks, and learning environment impairments.”

“We see a real opportunity with candidate forums for current Port Commissioners, and their challengers, to listen to voters, answer questions, and explain their records and their positions with concrete details, proposed actions, and commitments, Larry Cripe, President of Quiet Skies Coalition, added. “And the over 200,000 residents and 100,000 voters in our six airport neighbor communities can decide.”

Two Port of Seattle Commissioner seats, currently held by Fred Felleman and Courtney Gregoire, are up for election. Burien has 3 council seats up for election; Des Moines, 3 seats; and Federal Way, 4 seats.

Town Hall and two Candidate Forum Dates Announced
The League of Quiet Skies Voters will sponsor a Town Hall on April 25, 2019, at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien. In addition to guest speakers, all current Port Commissioners will be invited to respond to community questions. “The Town Hall is educational,” said Steve Edmiston, creator of The Briefing Project. “The purpose is to maximize voter education on airport expansion, the health and environmental risks, make sure there is fact and science-based information about the issues, hear from elected officials about their ideas and plans, and create an opportunity for community questions and answers.”

The League will also sponsor two candidate forums for Port and city council candidates.

In advance of the August 6, 2019, primary:

  • June 26, 2019 – Des Moines

In advance of general election:

  • Sept. 25, 2019 – Burien

About Quiet Skies Puget Sound (QSPS)
Founded by Des Moines resident Sheila Brush, QSPS is the 28th chapter of the National Quiet Skies Coalition (our NSQC Congressional Caucus representatives are Rep. Adam Smith and Pramila Jayapal). QSPS works directly with federal, state, and local legislators, and QSPS is supported regionally by a strong, dedicated grass roots organization of committed community members concerned about the newly added flight paths and increased noise and emission levels over the residents and businesses of the Puget Sound region.

QSPS provides information, education and activism with a robust social media presence premised on a foundation that balances the desire for safe and efficient air travel without sacrificing the livability of our neighborhoods – our quality of life.  If you are hearing it, you are breathing it.

Sheila Brush, Founder: quietskiespugetsound@gmail.com

About Quiet Skies Coalition (QSC)
The QSC’s was launched with a mission to restore the quiet skies over the greater Burien area following new and significant negative impacts from sudden FAA flight procedure modifications. QSC has since successfully tangled with the Federal Aviation Administration over new flights turning over Burien and continues to support the City of Burien’s litigation with the FAA in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. QSC members also provide significant leadership and expertise on a wide variety of aviation expansion issues to regional aviation-related institutions and committees, and airport neighbor cities and citizen groups.

Larry Cripe, President: Larry@quietskiescoalition.net

About the Federal Way Air Noise Alliance
Federal Way Air Noise Alliance members have worked with the City of Federal Way, the Sea-Tac Airport Round Table, the State Department of Commerce Aviation Impact Study, and other community groups, and provide ongoing advocacy and public testimony on airport expansion issues impacting Federal Way citizens.

About The Briefing Project
The Briefing Project is a year-long journalism, commentary, activism, and social media project created by Des Moines resident, attorney, and filmmaker Steve Edmiston. The Project is intended to culminate with a feature documentary film about elected officials with a choice to continue, stop, or mitigate, the harms caused to humans and the environment by noise and emissions from overflight operations. The Briefing Project introduced the “Port of Seattle Airport Neighbor Community (POSANC) Accords,” with ten initiatives ranging from general policy (e.g., protecting health and environment as a pre-condition to increasing flight frequency); to specific mitigation (e.g., policies prioritizing night time curfews and siting a regional airport); and initiatives reforming Port culture (e.g., policy of non-interference with environmental studies). See the POSANC Accords at https://bit.ly/2Q3LKsf.

Steve Edmiston: steveedmistonQ45@gmail.com

 

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