TagQuiet Skies Coalition(19)

In a May 2019 email to Sharyn Parker, Debi Wagner outlines her extensive advocacy history related to Sea-Tac Airport and aviation environmental issues, including serving on the Burien Airport Advisory Committee, co-founding US Citizens Aviation Watch in 1998, and co-authoring Burien Resolution 375 in 2015. Her experience spans noise, air quality, and climate change concerns, with roles on the Port of Seattle Energy and Sustainability Committee and the UW Ultrafine Advisory Panel. Handwritten notes on the document also reference Resolution #408 for the Burien Airport Committee in 2019 and membership in the Clean Air Network, a regional group of air quality experts and educators.

The Burien Airport Committee (BAC) held a revised meeting on July 17, 2018, covering updates on Quiet Skies Coalition activities, a Department of Commerce Impact Study budget proviso, and a StART meeting report. Key agenda items included a 30-minute presentation on Environmental Justice issues related to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by representatives from the Washington Department of Ecology and the EPA, as well as a discussion on drafting a City Council resolution addressing airport noise impacts. Future agenda items included a Port of Seattle presentation on the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) and a Department of Public Health briefing on health effects from airport proximity.

This document bundle relates to a 2018 media inquiry from KING 5 Television to the City of Burien regarding an FAA flight path decision affecting the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport area, along with an FAA Air Traffic Initial Environmental Review from May 2016. The environmental review describes a proposed Letter of Agreement between Sea-Tac's Air Traffic Control Tower and the Seattle Terminal Radar Approach Control facility to standardize turboprop departure headings to 250 degrees during north flow operations, routing smaller aircraft westward to improve safety and reduce ground delays. The change was intended to de-conflict slower turboprops from faster jet traffic and Boeing Field operations, though it raised noise concerns for communities such as Burien located under the newly defined flight paths.

A January 2017 legal memorandum from law firm Dentons to the Quiet Skies Coalition outlines potential claims against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over a new flight departure route introduced at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in summer 2016. The new route directs aircraft on a fixed low-altitude path over schools, parks, and residential areas in the City of Burien without prior public notice. The memo concludes that the FAA likely violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to conduct or document the required environmental review before implementing the route.

These documents contain communications from January 2017 regarding aircraft noise concerns over the Seahurst and White Center neighborhoods near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A noise consultant advises that Seahurst likely falls below the FAA's 65 dBA threshold that defines 'noise sensitive areas,' arguing this means an Environmental Assessment (EA) and historic property inventory are not required. Separately, a Burien resident emails city officials sharing research from Sea-Tac's Part 150 Study suggesting that flights over these neighborhoods were anticipated and approved, and that the absence of an EIS may not constitute valid grounds for litigation by the Quieter Skies coalition.