TagFAA(514)

This EPA technical report estimates airborne lead concentrations near U.S. airports caused by piston-engine aircraft burning leaded aviation gasoline (avgas). Using air quality modeling and extrapolation methods, the study identifies airports where lead levels may exceed national air quality standards, particularly in areas close to aircraft run-up zones. While not specific to Sea-Tac Airport, the findings are relevant to understanding aviation-related air quality impacts at airports nationwide.

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.

This January 2020 FAA memorandum explains pilot programs established or sunset by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, including programs for non-movement area surveillance systems, remote towers for rural communities, and environmental mitigation. It provides guidance to FAA regional and district office staff on eligibility rules, funding through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), and sunset dates for each program. Note that this document addresses broad national airport policy and does not contain content specifically related to Sea-Tac Airport noise policy.

The Burien Airport Committee met on December 17, 2019 to discuss ongoing concerns related to Sea-Tac Airport, including the city's legal findings against the FAA, the status of a University of Washington ultrafine particles study, and safety issues raised by Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. The committee also reviewed progress on the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) and a Washington State Department of Commerce study, while planning priorities for 2020. Draft minutes from the November 18, 2019 meeting were included, detailing earlier discussions on noise reduction, environmental impacts, and a potential meeting with the EPA.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals partly sided with the City of Burien in its challenge against the FAA's approval of a flight procedure that routes low-flying turboprop planes westward over Burien after takeoff from Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The court found that the FAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to consider all reasonably foreseeable future actions at Sea-Tac when evaluating whether the procedure's cumulative environmental and noise impacts required a full environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FAA had attempted to exempt the procedure from such review by classifying it as a 'categorical exclusion,' but the court determined that the agency's cumulative impacts analysis was incomplete.

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.