The Burien Quiet Skies coalition compiled this document to compare a 1996 expert arbitration panel's noise reduction directives for Sea-Tac Airport with the FAA's 2014 approval of the airport's 2013-2018 noise compatibility program, revealing that many of the same noise abatement and mitigation measures remain unaddressed decades later. Key concerns include hundreds of homes still lacking adequate sound insulation, a 12-year gap in noise modeling data, outdated noise contour maps, and the FAA's failure to hold the Port of Seattle accountable for implementing promised noise reduction procedures. The document argues that regulators and the Port of Seattle have repeatedly failed South King County communities—including economically vulnerable populations—by allowing aircraft noise levels to worsen while meaningful corrective action has been continually delayed since at least 1985.Open full document
Notes
The Burien Quiet Skies coalition compiled this document comparing the FAA’s June 2014 Record of Approval of Sea-Tac’s 2013-2018 Part 150 Study with the March 1996 Expert Arbitration Panel’s Final Decision on Noise Issues, identifying longstanding unresolved noise abatement and mitigation failures by the Port of Seattle. The document raises concerns about the lack of noise modeling data from 2007-2019, unimplemented noise abatement procedures dating to 1996, and outdated noise contours that understate community noise exposure. It argues that regulators, particularly the FAA, have failed to hold the Port of Seattle accountable for meaningful noise reduction affecting South King County communities.