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The City of Burien is calling on Port of Seattle Commissioners to overhaul their decades-old noise insulation program after hundreds of Port-installed soundproofing packages in homes near Sea-Tac Airport have degraded or failed with no repairs made. A 2024 pilot program contacted 3,000 homeowners but evaluated only 30, and none qualified for repair under the Port's narrow federal-funding criteria. Burien is urging the Port to fund a broader replacement program using its own resources, pointing to San Francisco International Airport's locally funded model as a potential template.

In August 2025, acoustical engineering firm HMMH measured indoor noise levels at 31 homes near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to assess eligibility for the airport's Sound Insulation Repair and Replacement Program. Testing found that only one of the 31 homes met the FAA's minimum threshold of 45 decibels interior Day-Night Average Sound Level required to qualify for full sound insulation treatment, while seven additional homes had at least one room exceeding that level. The study used FAA-approved methods, including a Boeing 737-800 aircraft noise spectrum, to calculate how much airport noise penetrates each habitable room with windows closed.

This August 2025 technical report by Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH) presents the results of interior sound insulation testing conducted at 28 homes near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in July 2025. Using FAA-approved measurement methods, acoustical engineers tested every habitable room in each home to determine how much aircraft noise penetrates indoors, with a threshold of 45 decibels (dB) required for a home to qualify for sound insulation assistance. Of the 28 structures tested, only two met the 45 dB qualification threshold, while nine others had at least one room exceeding that level but did not qualify under current FAA policy.

Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH) conducted sound insulation measurements at 30 homes near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in June 2025 to determine whether interior noise levels meet the federal threshold for sound insulation assistance. Using FAA-approved testing methods, the study found that only 3 of the 30 homes had median interior Day-Night Average Sound Levels (DNL) at or above the qualifying 45 dB threshold, while an additional 3 homes had individual rooms exceeding that level. The results inform eligibility decisions under the SEA Repair and Replacement Program, which is governed by FAA Advisory Circular 150/5000-9B and the Airport Improvement Program Handbook.