Category : Correspondence(309)

This January 2020 FAA document updates a flight procedure at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), allowing the airport's air traffic control tower to automatically direct southbound turboprop aircraft to make a westerly turn shortly after takeoff during north-flow operations, between 6am and 10pm. The change, which applies to roughly 90% of affected turboprop departures, was previously halted after the City of Burien filed a legal challenge. A thorough environmental and noise review found only minor noise increases in some areas, well below the FAA's thresholds requiring further review.

In December 2019, the Port of Seattle and six surrounding cities wrote to FAA Administrator Steve Dickson urging swift action on noise-related provisions of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act. The letter highlights three key priorities: updating the 65 DNL noise standard, studying the health impacts of aircraft overflight noise on local communities, and establishing an environmental mitigation pilot program. The signatories also raised the possibility of allowing secondary noise insulation investments for homes where previous FAA-funded packages have failed.

In December 2019, the Port of Seattle and six surrounding cities (SeaTac, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Tukwila, and Normandy Park) wrote to Washington's congressional delegation urging action on airplane noise and emissions around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The letter called for the FAA to release completed noise studies, fund health research on overflight impacts, and support an environmental mitigation pilot program under the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act. It also backed new legislation targeting ultrafine particle emissions, secondary noise insulation for homes, and broader alternatives to commercial air travel.

In a November 2019 letter to the Washington State Department of Commerce, SeaTac Mayor Erin Sitterley raised concerns about the management of the state-mandated Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Study, which SeaTac was funding to the tune of $150,000. The city questioned whether the study's consultant, Stantec, had strayed from the original technical scope of work, cited worries about monitoring stations placed outside the defined study area, and expressed doubt that the study could be completed on time and within budget. The letter demanded a full accounting of project expenditures—including consultant travel costs from Dallas—and requested that public input be limited until after a draft report was reviewed by the Technical Advisory Committee.

In October 2019, Congressman Adam Smith (WA-9th District) wrote to the Government Accountability Office requesting that its study on FAA aircraft noise management be expanded beyond major metropolitan 'metroplexes' to also include Single Site airports, such as those affected by NextGen flight procedure changes near smaller cities. The letter asks the GAO to examine how the FAA measures, discloses, and mitigates noise impacts at these airports, whether its current noise standards adequately protect communities, and how effectively it engages the public when implementing new flight routes. The request was driven by significant community concern over increased noise resulting from NextGen-related flight path changes at Single Site airports.

The Burien Airport Committee met on October 15, 2019 to discuss the city's participation in the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART), review legislative priorities related to the airport, and consider a meeting request with the EPA Administrator. The agenda included draft minutes from a September 17, 2019 joint meeting with the Des Moines Aviation Advisory Committee, where members debated conditions for rejoining StART or forming an alternative community forum. Key concerns raised included meeting transparency, equal agenda-setting rights, and greater involvement of elected officials in airport noise and policy discussions.