TagSAMP(642)

These two letters from 2019 address community concerns about noise and environmental impacts from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). The EPA's Region 10 Regional Administrator responds to a Burien resident, explaining the agency's limited role in the NEPA review process and directing her to engage with the FAA regarding the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) Environmental Assessment. Separately, the Port of Seattle's Executive Director responds to Burien's mayor, acknowledging community concerns about aircraft noise and emphasizing the Port's commitment to collaboration through forums such as the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART).

The Port of Seattle responded in October 2019 to detailed questions from the City of Burien about aircraft noise management at Sea-Tac Airport, addressing concerns about noise studies, abatement procedures, sound insulation programs, and community engagement. The Port defended its 2014 Part 150 noise study as covering all three runways and argued that improved aircraft technology has actually reduced the noise-impacted area since the previous study. It also outlined ongoing mitigation efforts, including a Late-Night Noise Limitation Program, over $300 million spent on sound insulation for thousands of homes, and the upcoming Sustainable Airport Master Plan environmental review, which will reassess noise impacts across all runways.

In September 2019, the City of Des Moines responded to a Port of Seattle apology letter regarding the allocation of $10 million for Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) design work without prior environmental review or stakeholder notice, which had prompted Des Moines and other nearby cities to temporarily suspend participation in the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART). The City challenged the Port's claims of meaningful progress on noise reduction measures, requesting specific data on the Late Night Noise Limitation program, changes to nighttime flight schedules, and the status of runway glide slope adjustments. The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between Sea-Tac Airport and surrounding communities over transparency, environmental compliance, and the effectiveness of collaborative noise mitigation efforts.

In August 2019, the City of Burien formally suspended its participation in the Sea-Tac Advisory Roundtable (StART), citing the Port of Seattle's decision to advance airport expansion designs before completing required environmental reviews, a lack of transparency, and a feeling that community concerns were being ignored. The letter raises serious questions about noise abatement, slow sound insulation programs, air quality impacts extending miles beyond the airport, and the exclusion of nighttime engine run-up mitigation measures recommended as far back as 1996. Burien called on the Port to engage in an honest discussion about how much airport growth is sustainable given the health and quality-of-life impacts on surrounding communities.

In August 2019, the City of Burien sent a draft letter to the Port of Seattle raising eight pointed questions about Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's handling of aircraft noise, air quality, and community impact. The letter challenges the Port's failure to conduct comprehensive noise studies since 2002, its slow implementation of sound insulation programs, and its prioritization of airport expansion planning over legally recommended noise mitigation measures. Burien officials conclude that the Port has not treated compatibility with surrounding communities as a genuine priority, citing decades of unaddressed recommendations dating back to a 1996 Expert Arbitration Panel report.

This document contains the agenda and draft minutes for the Burien Airport Committee meeting held on July 30, 2019, focused on community concerns about Sea-Tac Airport. Key topics included draft letters to Senator Keiser and Congresswoman Jayapal regarding FAA questions, ongoing discussions about FAA Part 150 noise mitigation options, and the Port of Seattle's Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). The committee also discussed coordinating with the Des Moines Aviation Advisory Committee and reviewed notes from recent stakeholder meetings with airport planning consultants.

A July 23, 2019 Port of Seattle briefing document outlines the aviation capital planning and preliminary design process for Sea-Tac Airport, covering three phases: completed master planning, advanced planning still in progress, and preliminary design requiring capital funds approval. Key topics include near-term projects, projects requiring preliminary design authorization, and the relocation of a Glideslope Antenna. The preliminary design phase aims to develop individual project programs in sufficient detail to produce a Project Definition Document (PDD) and transition projects into full design.

In summer 2019, Burien City Manager Brian Wilson coordinated with partner cities (Normandy Park, SeaTac, and Des Moines) and federal relations consultants at Lockridge Grindal Nauen to review a Port of Seattle presentation on the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan (SAMP) Near-Term Projects Environmental Review, which had been delivered to the Burien City Council on June 17, 2019. The emails show Wilson requesting that consultant Emily Tranter analyze the presentation given by Port of Seattle Director of Aviation, Environment, and Sustainability Arlyn Purcell, in order to help the cities determine their next steps in responding to the airport's environmental review process. Wilson followed up with additional comments and questions on the resulting review, reflecting ongoing community concern about the potential noise and environmental impacts of planned airport expansion projects.