By Andrew McIntosh – Reporter, Puget Sound Business Journal
Dec 18, 2019
The Port of Seattle has delayed the environmental review process for potential Seattle-Tacoma International Airport expansion projects until late 2021.
The public agency said a statement Monday it’s taking more time for its own environmental review following public feedback on its Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) — the blueprint for future expansions. The projects involved are slated to be launched or completed by 2027.
Port Commission President Stephanie Bowman declined to comment on the agency’s decision. Officials had initially wanted to finish a draft document for public review and comment by spring 2020.
Expansion projects include a $2.3 billion plan to build a standalone north terminal with 19 gates, which would allow for hundreds of additional daily takeoffs and landings.
The SAMP airport expansion has been challenged by the airport’s largest tenant, Alaska Airlines, which said last month the SAMP had “critical shortcomings,” especially construction of a new stand alone passenger terminal.
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke has also criticized the plan, saying it included none of the features his citizens’ task force recommended for an expanded, improved Sea-Tac.
A few weeks later, the city of Burien and a coalition of residents announced they won a court case against the Federal Aviation Administration involving the SAMP. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the aviation safety regulator wrongly routed extra Sea-Tac Airport turboprop flights over Burien and its residents without a full and proper environmental review.
The FAA also failed to consider “the potential cumulative impact of all relevant reasonably foreseeable future actions,” including billions of dollars worth of future SAMP projects at Sea-Tac, when it approved those flights.
The plans also include a fuel depot expansion to make room for sustainable aviation biofuel, and an automated people mover with three stations to connect the airport’s rental car facility, Sea-Tac’s main terminal, and the proposed terminal.