TagSAMP(650)

The Burien Airport Committee (BAC) recommends capping flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, citing unacceptable health burdens from aircraft noise and air pollution on surrounding communities. The committee argues that decades of regional planning studies have failed to identify alternatives to concentrating all air traffic growth at Sea-Tac, and that current expansion plans will likely be insufficient beyond 2025. BAC opposes Sea-Tac's SAMP expansion plan and calls on state and regional officials to identify alternative locations for future air passenger and cargo growth.

This document is a review by ABCx2 of a Port of Seattle presentation to the city of Burien regarding the Sea-Tac Airport Master Plan (SAMP) Environmental Impact Statement. It raises concerns about the Port's decision to limit its environmental review of airport impacts to 2018 rather than 2012, questions whether significant construction growth and flight increases during that period were properly analyzed under federal (NEPA) and state (SEPA) environmental law, and challenges the Port's characterization of the FAR Part 150 noise abatement process as purely voluntary. The document also examines potential consequences if the Port fails to meet noise mitigation commitments tied to federal funding.

Handwritten notes reviewing an FAA document on airport grant assurances, referencing noise mitigation policy and Kandahar Corridor Syndrome (KCS). The notes criticize the postponement of noise mitigation efforts in favor of the SAMP (Sustainable Airport Master Plan), quoting language suggesting 'little or no downside for the clients' and expressing concern that passengers and airlines are being prioritized over local communities. A URL referencing FAA airport grant assurances (airport-sponsor-assurances-aip(1).pdf) is also included.

A legal and regulatory analysis arguing that the FAA must conduct a broader cumulative environmental impact review of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport expansion, following a 9th Circuit Court ruling that remanded the 'Burien Turn' flight path back to the FAA. The document contends that multiple airport expansion projects—including the addition of 14 new gates and the extension of Highway 509—were each approved individually under categorical exclusions (CATEXs) without properly accounting for their combined effects on noise, air quality, and environmental justice communities. The author argues that under NEPA regulations, the FAA is required to analyze these past, present, and future actions together to determine whether their collective impact is significant.

This document presents a point-by-point rebuttal to an FAA 'Limited Update' regarding a new flight departure procedure at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, arguing that the FAA has failed to conduct required safety risk analyses, properly assess cumulative noise and air quality impacts on environmental justice communities, and comply with court-ordered environmental review under NEPA. The authors contend that the FAA is understating the scope and timeline of the Sea-Tac Airport Master Plan (SAMP) expansion while dismissing significant health, noise, and emissions impacts on nearby residents. The critique calls out procedural shortcuts, incomplete public comment responses, and what it characterizes as predetermined conclusions designed to avoid full environmental scrutiny.

The Burien City Council wrote to Port of Seattle leadership explaining why they suspended participation in the Sea-Tac Airport Round Table (StART), citing the Port's failure to respond to community concerns about health, noise, and quality-of-life impacts from growing flight operations. The council objected to the Port approving $10 million in design work for airport expansion under the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) without adequate community consultation, and called for that decision to be reversed as a condition of re-engagement. A companion comparison chart shows how StART's governance rules on elected membership, meeting recordings, and inclusion of expert witnesses fall short of standards used by similar advisory bodies at airports in Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

This document outlines community and city grievances against the Port of Seattle regarding the StART (Sea-Tac Roundtable) stakeholder process, demanding greater transparency, accountability, and audio-visual recording of meetings. It criticizes the Port for making vague bad-faith allegations against unnamed citizen members, issuing one-sided press releases about StART's successes without member consent, and failing to respond to long-standing requests from neighboring cities like Burien and Des Moines. The document calls for charter reforms to prevent StART from being used as a marketing tool or as legal evidence of community engagement.

This document outlines the history of the StART (Sea-Tac Airport Roundtable) process, explaining why the cities of Burien, Des Moines, and Federal Way suspended their participation in summer 2019. The cities cited the Port of Seattle's decision to spend $10 million on design work for the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) without completing environmental review or meaningfully consulting affected communities. Additional concerns included the Port's conduct at meetings, misrepresentation of community viewpoints, and a general feeling among city residents that their participation was being used to rubber-stamp Port decisions rather than genuinely influence them.

Appendix C of the Sea-Tac Sustainable Airport Master Plan covers air quality and greenhouse gas emissions analyses prepared for the Port of Seattle by Landrum & Brown. It includes technical reports on emissions from aircraft, ground support equipment, construction, and other airport sources, as well as a human health risk assessment focused on ultrafine particles. Note that some climate-related sections originally included in the Draft Environmental Assessment were later removed following changes to federal executive orders and a 2025 Supreme Court ruling.

This Noise Technical Report, prepared by Landrum & Brown for the Port of Seattle in March 2024, analyzes noise impacts associated with near-term construction and development projects outlined in the Sustainable Airport Master Plan for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The report is part of Appendix J, which covers noise and noise-compatible land use, and was developed to satisfy both federal (NEPA) and state (SEPA) environmental review requirements. It provides technical findings to help assess how proposed airport improvements may affect noise levels in surrounding communities.