TagFAA(797)

This document is Appendix G of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP), covering a cultural resources survey of near-term airport projects in King County. It outlines coordination between the FAA and the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP), which ultimately concurred with findings of No Adverse Effect on historic resources. The appendix also documents outreach to ten Native American tribes as part of the federally required Section 106 review process.

This appendix documents the historic and cultural resources review conducted for near-term construction projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, as part of the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). It includes a timeline of coordination between the FAA and Washington's Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP), which ultimately concurred that the projects would have no adverse effect on historic properties. The appendix also records outreach to ten Native American tribes in the region, including the Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Tulalip, and Suquamish, as required under the federal Section 106 review process.

The FAA announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for an Airport Environmental Mitigation Pilot Program, authorized under Section 190 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which provides grants of up to $2.5 million per project to help public-use airports measurably reduce aviation impacts on noise, air quality, or water quality within five miles of the airport. Up to six projects may be funded, with costs split 50/50 between federal and airport matching funds, and projects must be carried out by an eligible consortium of businesses, educational or research organizations, government entities, or federal laboratories. Pre-applications were due by July 9, 2021, and priority was given to projects achieving the greatest reductions in aircraft noise, emissions, or water quality impacts.

This FAA presentation from February 18, 2021 explains Section 175 of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, which addresses community noise concerns related to aircraft departure procedures. The law requires the FAA to consider dispersal headings or varied flight paths for new or amended departure procedures that direct aircraft between the surface and 6,000 feet over noise-sensitive areas, but only when the airport operator — not the community directly — formally requests it. Any approved changes must not significantly increase noise over noise-sensitive areas or interfere with the safe and efficient operation of the national airspace system.

This 2021 FAA report analyzes the Neighborhood Environmental Survey (NES), a large-scale study examining how aircraft noise affects communities around 20 U.S. commercial airports. Researchers surveyed over 10,000 residents and found that annoyance with aircraft noise increases steadily as noise levels rise, with significantly more people reporting high annoyance than older studies had suggested. The findings provide an updated national curve showing the relationship between measured noise exposure (DNL) and community annoyance, which can inform airport noise policy decisions.

The Washington State Department of Revenue submitted this 2021 report to the Legislature updating the state's action plan regarding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policy on airport revenue. The FAA requires that any state or local taxes on aviation fuel enacted after December 30, 1987—including the hazardous substance tax, petroleum products tax, and local sales and use taxes—be spent exclusively on airport and aviation purposes. The report also recommends a method for separately tracking the amounts collected from these taxes on aviation fuel, developed in consultation with the Washington State Department of Transportation's Aviation Division.