TagEnvironmental Review(48)

The Port of Seattle presented an environmental review of near-term construction projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as part of its Sustainable Airport Master Plan. Projects include expanded passenger terminals and gates to handle a projected 56 million annual passengers, additional cargo facilities, airfield safety upgrades to meet FAA standards, taxiway efficiency improvements, and new fuel storage to support Sustainable Aviation Fuel initiatives. The review maps out how these developments will be assessed for their environmental impacts across the airport and surrounding areas.

This document compiles public and agency scoping comments received during the environmental review process for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's SAMP (Sustainable Airport Master Plan) Near Term Projects. Comments are organized into 22 topical categories, covering issues such as noise, air quality, transportation, water resources, and human health, and are labeled to indicate whether they directly relate to the SAMP Near Term Projects or address broader airport concerns. Each comment is coded for easy reference, allowing readers to track specific concerns raised by the public and agencies throughout the scoping process.

The Sea-Tac Airport Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) Near-Term Project Environmental Review outlines a comprehensive set of planned improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, covering airside, landside, terminal, cargo, and airport support facilities. Key projects include taxiway and runway upgrades, a new second terminal with associated roads and parking, cargo facility expansions, and sustainability initiatives such as sustainable aviation fuel infrastructure and consolidated de-icing tanks. These near-term projects are intended to enhance airport capacity, safety, and operational efficiency while supporting the airport's long-term growth strategy.

The FAA is reviewing its civil aviation noise policy, which is based on decades-old research, to better address how aircraft noise affects communities near airports like Sea-Tac. The review examines noise measurement systems, acceptable noise thresholds, and the impact of aviation noise on residents—including annoyance, sleep disturbance, and health effects. Public and stakeholder input is being sought to help modernize the policy.

This June 2022 presentation by Des Moines Chief Strategic Officer Susan Cezar provides an update on the environmental review of Near Term Projects under the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). It outlines the history of the review process dating back to 2015, including a multi-city inter-local agreement between Des Moines, Burien, Normandy Park, and SeaTac to coordinate responses to the Port's environmental documents. City staff continue to monitor the Port's compliance with federal (NEPA) and state (SEPA) environmental requirements as airport capital projects move forward.

In September 2021, the City of Burien considered approving an additional $42,970 contribution to a shared consultant contract with the cities of Des Moines, Normandy Park, and SeaTac to review and respond to the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP), which outlines airport growth over the next 20 years. The four cities entered into an inter-local agreement in 2018 to coordinate their environmental review and formal comments on noise and other impacts associated with SEA International Airport expansion. The contract amendment also extended the agreement's end date from 2021 to 2023 and recognized a change in the consulting firm from Lockridge Grindal Nauen to Primacy Strategy Group.

This June 2021 amendment to a consultant contract extends an agreement between the City of Des Moines, WA and two consulting firms—Primacy Strategy Group, LLC and ABCx2, LLC—through December 31, 2023, with a maximum compensation of $275,000. The contract, originally signed in 2018 and administered by Des Moines on behalf of a partnership with the cities of Burien, SeaTac, and Normandy Park, relates to advocacy and consulting work connected to Sea-Tac Airport's environmental review process (SAMP SEPA/NEPA). Consulting services were suspended as of January 1, 2020, pending the public release of SAMP Environmental Review documents, with any interim work to be authorized by the City through individual Task Orders.

In November 2019, attorney Steve Edmiston and community members Sharyn Parker and others discussed conditions for re-engaging with the StART (Sea-Tac Airport Roundtable) community advisory process, which had been suspended. Key demands included collaborative agenda-setting, mandatory advance distribution of written materials, equal time for public Q&A, annual review of the facilitator, no restrictions on topics including the airport's growth and environmental reviews, and a request that the Port of Seattle pause its SAMP (Sustainable Airport Master Plan) work pending environmental review. Sharyn Parker's written responses indicated support for re-engagement only if those conditions were met, and called for the Port to conduct a new Part 150 noise study, accelerate sound mitigation, and create a 'second-chance' insulation program for affected residents.