Hardstand

2018-03-12
Aviation Advisory Committee meeting agenda and letter to Sea-Tac Airport managing director regarding SAMP environmental review

At a March 12, 2018 Aviation Advisory Committee meeting, the City of Des Moines raised concerns that Sea-Tac Airport was approving capacity-expanding projects — including the North Satellite, International Arrivals Facility, and Concourse D Hardstand Holdroom — on a piecemeal basis rather than evaluating their combined environmental impacts together. The City sent a letter to the Airport's Managing Director arguing that treating these projects as part of the baseline 'future condition' in the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) environmental review, rather than as growth-related additions, was unacceptable and contradicted prior commitments. Des Moines requested clarification and a reaffirmation that the cumulative capacity and noise impacts of these projects would be fully analyzed in the SAMP review, citing disproportionate noise and health burdens on residents living near the airport.

TagsHardstand, SAMP, StART

As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

V V