SAMP Update: NEPA
Following the FAA decision to permit the Sustainable Airport Master Plan, the Three City ILA (Burien, Des Moines, and SeaTac) filed a shared appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court, using an attorney identified and hired by the City of SeaTac. Apparently, the attorney was also hired, in a shared decision the non-profit Vashon Island Fair Skies group.
25 7439 Dktentry Petition Denied March 19, 2026
It is standard practice for courts to consolidate cases where multiple parties have the same attorney–the implication being that to a certain extent they also share similar same interests.
In February, both the Three Cities and VIFS filed a standard motion to push back on that and ask to provide separate briefs — to argue that they do, in fact, have separate interests. And, also standard procedure, the Court has denied that. The Port of Seattle has entered the case as an Intervenor — meaning a non-original party because the outcome of the case directly affects them.
The Court requires all parties to fill out an introductory mediation questionnaire–to determine if there is some way to come to an agreement. The Port of Seattle Director Stephen Metruck and Environmental Director Sarah Fox have provided standard boilerplate responses to the initial questionnaire.
Mediation only occurs if all parties want it.
The Three Cities seem to be taking a fairly blasé approach, their opening comments were not updated from 2024 when Normandy Park was still a member of the ILA. Other cities have commented that they did not expect relief from the FAA/NEPA, and will show more interest in the State permitting process (SEPA).
Our concern has always been that, with a consolidated approach, which ultimately leads to a single 30-minute argument before the Court, the case will boil down to changing flight paths — the primary concern for VIFS, but definitely not for the Three Cities.
The consolidated brief is due March 30, with a response from the FAA due at the end of April.
The State permitting decision (SEPA) is also still on track for release by the Port of Seattle in April. A 30 day public comment period will then begins, although the Port may choose to extend it–as did the FAA during NEPA.