TagFlight Plan Project(17)

In a November 1992 letter to the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region manager, the President of the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs urges the federal government to defer funding and detailed planning for a proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). The letter argues that the Puget Sound Regional Council's ongoing regional airport system planning process must be allowed to fully evaluate all alternatives before any single project receives federal financial commitment. The author warns that proceeding prematurely with site-specific plans and an Environmental Impact Statement risks wasting federal money if the regional plan ultimately selects an alternative other than a third runway at Sea-Tac.

Resolution No. 3125, adopted by the Port of Seattle Commission in 1992, authorizes planning and environmental studies for the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) to address growing air traffic demand and capacity limitations, particularly during poor weather conditions. The resolution follows a two-year study by the Puget Sound Air Transportation Committee (PSATC), which recommended a phased multiple-airport system, including a new dependent runway at Sea-Tac by 2000. The Port also called for broader regional solutions, including a fast rail link between Portland and Vancouver airports and diversion of cargo-only carriers to alternative airport sites.

The Flight Plan Project, a joint effort by the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Port of Seattle, produced this 1992 Final Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate long-term commercial air transportation options for the central Puget Sound region. It examines system-level alternatives ranging from expanding Sea-Tac Airport to building new airport facilities, assessing trade-offs related to noise, air quality, land use, and regional quality of life. The document serves as a programmatic planning tool, with no single preferred alternative identified, intended to guide future site-specific environmental reviews and regional airport policy decisions.

Washington State's Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2609, passed in March 1992 and effective April 2, 1992, placed a moratorium on the construction or extension of runways of 1,000 feet or more by cities, counties, or port districts in heavily populated western Washington counties. The bill was designed to allow the state's Air Transportation Commission time to complete a comprehensive statewide air transportation strategy, with an interim report due December 1, 1992, and a final report due December 1, 1994. The legislation aimed to balance regional aviation capacity needs with environmental and growth management policies before any major new runway infrastructure was approved.

The Flight Plan Project, published in January 1992 by the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Port of Seattle, examines the long-term air carrier system needs of the Puget Sound region. The report includes study findings, draft recommendations, and a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. It was funded in part by grants from the Federal Aviation Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.