What you need to know
The Sustainable Airport Master Plan Near-Term Projects SEPA Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SEPA/DEIS) is now available. Public comment is open for sixty days, until July 21, 2026. There will be four Port-sponsored open houses and two webinars. Several cities will also receive briefings at their city councils. We will provide calendar reminders for all our subscribers.
We are studying the documents right now. We know you are busy. We know it feels overwhelming. If you can attend a public meeting, please do. But we believe that the best use of your time will be to be patient, and follow a trusted source that is prepared to act on your behalf. That is STNI.
As of 23:00 PDT, it appears that at least one of the documents is damaged. We have alerted the Port of Seattle.
Before you comment
- Use our template. We will provide a well-researched set of comments you can add your name to, or use as a starting point for your own.
- Ask us first. If you want to do your own research, use our site. Our site is the most complete public resource on the SAMP. People often ask the Port, FAA, WSDOT, or their city for data during these periods. Those requests take a long time and usually return only a piece of what you were looking for. Just ask STNI.
- Write your city and its advisory committees. Tell them to do the same. City staff and residents are almost always new to airport processes. Unlike the Port of Seattle, they do not have ongoing expertise. That is the problem: they only know what they know. Insist that everyone has access to complete information — not only what the Port or FAA have on the table. Just ask STNI.
Background
The SAMP began in 2012. It has had dozens of moving parts, but the projects being submitted for approval now were more or less finalized over a decade ago. None of our cities have handled it well, because people always treat these ad hoc. The Port of Seattle has been clear from the start: this will never end.
About “public comment”
That term is unfortunate. We do not blame anyone who has trouble digesting the documents, or who cannot understand how a process this large would not include any community mitigation or compensation.
Practically speaking, “public comment” is designed for specialists to provide notes that improve or challenge specific findings. The documents are complicated, but not for people who are prepared. A tax attorney can fly through a lengthy IRS ruling. A surgeon can follow the most complex procedure.
The person who reads these comments evaluates each one against specific regulatory requirements. If a thousand people comment and 999 of them only say “This stinks,” that does not stick it to the man, it makes extra work for a clerk. We deserve and can obtain relief. We won’t get there by venting.
What our cities are doing instead
We are concerned that our cities may continue making the same tired arguments to avoid doing all they should — even using FIFA as an excuse for needing more time to prepare. They will issue many statements encouraging the public to make your voice heard. We agree. But it could also be used as one more distraction from the fact that they have not studied for a test they knew was coming fourteen years ago.
The next sixty days
We need to provide useful comments — ones that lead to a better SAMP this year, and to legislation that addresses the broader impacts on airport communities next year. But our cities will always be our primary advocates. We must also send them a clear message: Stop making excuses. Start developing a continuous, long-term strategy to help airport communities.