TagICAO(18)

This March 2022 FAA presentation to the REDAC Energy & Environment Subcommittee provides an overview of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), highlighting both opportunities—such as drop-in compatibility with existing aircraft and infrastructure, and the potential to reduce lifecycle carbon emissions—and challenges including high production costs, limited incentives, and blend limits capped at 50%. The FAA's SAF program focuses on three areas: testing and accelerating fuel development, analyzing environmental and economic sustainability, and coordinating with public-private partnerships and international bodies like ICAO. While primarily focused on aviation decarbonization broadly, the program's emissions-reduction goals have indirect relevance to noise and environmental policy discussions at major airports like Sea-Tac.

The ICAO Engine Emissions Databank is an international reference database tracking exhaust emissions—including smoke, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides—from commercial turbojet and turbofan aircraft engines. It compiles certified emissions data measured during a standardized Landing/Take-Off (LTO) cycle below 3,000 feet, making it relevant for assessing local air quality impacts at airports like Sea-Tac. The databank is regularly updated to reflect new engine certifications and design changes, though its fuel-flow figures are not intended for comparing overall engine fuel efficiency.

This 2015 report from the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) outlines the aviation industry's framework for addressing its climate impact, noting that while air transport carries over 3.3 billion passengers annually and supports 3.5% of global GDP, it also accounts for roughly 2% of human-induced CO2 emissions. The document presents the industry's strategies for balancing continued air traffic growth with the obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It represents a collaborative effort across airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, and aircraft manufacturers to pursue sustainable development goals.

ICAO good practice case study documenting the US/FAA NextGen ‘Greener Skies over Seattle’ initiative — a Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) completed November 1, 2012 for proposed PBN arrival procedures (STARs and RNP with Optimized Profile Descents) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA/Sea-Tac Airport). Collaborative project between FAA, Alaska Air Group (Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air), The Boeing

This FAA Advisory Circular (AC 36-1H) published in 2001 and updated in 2012 provides official noise level data for U.S.-certificated and foreign aircraft, including turbojet and propeller-driven planes tested under 14 CFR Part 36 and ICAO Annex 16 standards. Noise measurements, expressed in Effective Perceived Noise Levels (EPNdB), cover takeoff, sideline, and approach conditions and are organized across multiple appendices by aircraft type and compliance stage. The document serves as a reference for tracking progress in aircraft noise reduction and supports noise policy decisions at airports across the United States.

This document debunks common myths about airport air pollution, noise, and emissions regulation, explaining that invisible pollutants can still reach dangerous levels, that fine particles from jet engines bypass the body's natural defenses, and that shoreline communities like those near Sea-Tac may face higher pollution concentrations due to wind patterns. It also reveals that neither the EPA nor FAA effectively regulates aircraft emissions or noise in ways that truly protect nearby residents, as regulatory authority rests with bodies like ICAO that are dominated by airline and airport interests. Additionally, the document highlights that official pollution modeling tools may significantly underestimate actual pollution levels, and that so-called 'noise abatement' programs often fail to reduce noise at all.