TagNoise Monitors(48)

The Highline Forum held its July 22, 2020 meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams, hosted by the City of Federal Way, focusing on ultra-fine particle studies, noise program updates, and StART (Sea-Tac Airport Roundtable) developments near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Key presentations included University of Washington air quality research (MOV-UP study), a temporary noise monitors update from the Port of Seattle, and a South King County Fund update. The meeting was conducted remotely due to the Governor's Stay-at-Home Order, with public comments accepted via email or MS Teams.

Vashon Island Fair Skies, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, wrote to the SeaTac City Council in July 2020 requesting help pressuring the Port of Seattle to retain raw second-by-second data from its 24 airport noise monitors, which vendor L3Harris currently purges after processing. The letter argues this raw data is essential for accurate noise analysis, demonstrating with December 2019 monitor data that high background noise at some sites causes the processing software to miss many actual aircraft overflight events. The group asks the city to urge the Port to make a simple procedural change — either downloading the data itself or requiring L3Harris to deliver it — noting the storage requirement is a modest ~62 MB per monitor per month.

The Burien Airport Committee held a virtual meeting on July 21, 2020, to discuss several airport-related issues affecting the community, including flight patterns, noise monitoring, and re-engagement with the SeaTac Airport Roundtable (StART). Key agenda items included a potential request for a temporary portable noise monitor in Burien, recommending representatives for NextGen/PBN rollout discussions with the GAO, and continuing discussions on inviting Port Commissioners to meet with the committee and City Council. Draft minutes from the June 16, 2020 meeting also reflected earlier discussions about airport impact mitigation, equity concerns, and a proposed letter to the Port Commission addressing a post-COVID 'new normal' for airport operations.

In a July 17, 2020 email to Burien Airport Committee members, Sharyn Parker urges the City of Burien to accept Sea-Tac Airport's offer to place a temporary portable noise monitor in the city, noting there is currently no monitor near the 'New Route' where Q400 turboprop and jet aircraft continue to fly westbound during north-flow conditions. Parker cautions that site selection is a complex process requiring careful attention to obstacles, noise buffers, and power availability, drawing on her experience with King County International Airport where similar projects took two to four years. She recommends the city respond with a simple 'yes' by the July 24, 2020 deadline and request an extension if needed to properly identify one or two suitable monitoring locations.

In October 2019, community advocate Sharyn Parker responded to a request for public input on a Sea-Tac Airport airfield ground noise study being conducted by consulting firm HMMH. Parker argued that the consultant should first analyze existing noise monitor station data, correlate it with engine run-up records and resident complaints, and review compliance with Washington State noise regulations (WAC 173-60) before seeking community feedback. She also raised concerns about non-functioning noise monitors, the airport's unverified claims about off-site engine testing, and potential overlap with a separate noise study tied to the airport's master planning process.

These emails, dated October–November 2019, relate to a study of ground-level noise at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport initiated by the StART Aviation Noise Working Group. Noise consultant Brad Nicholas of HMMH sought input from surrounding cities, including Burien (which had suspended its StART membership), on which noise sources to analyze and where to place monitoring equipment. Community advocate Sharyn Parker responded with detailed recommendations, arguing the consultant should first correlate existing noise complaints and monitor records with engine run-up events before soliciting public input, and identifying engine run-ups and reverse thrust as the two primary sources of airfield ground noise.

The Beacon Hill Seattle Community Noise Team recorded aircraft flying over their neighborhood on August 13, 2018, capturing both video and real-time noise levels using a handheld noise dosimeter. Nine videos from that afternoon show aircraft passing overhead between 12:22 PM and 12:37 PM, with a still image from 12:22 PM displaying a reading of 77.8 decibels on the dosimeter. These recordings were compiled as community evidence of aircraft noise impacts in the Beacon Hill area near Sea-Tac Airport.