Final budget has two notables for communities under the flight path.
The Good
Included in the newly passed 2025 Washington State budget is a $440,000 grant to the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (UW DEOHS) to install an aviation-specific air quality monitoring site in Des Moines. This will be the first permanent monitor in the south end of the flight path capable of identifying pollution directly attributable to aircraft traffic from Sea-Tac Airport—despite more than a decade of growth in flight volume and known public health risks.
The monitor will focus on pollutants that standard state-run monitors often miss: ultrafine particles (UFPs), black carbon, and nitrogen oxides—all of which have been tied to jet fuel combustion. UW DEOHS, the same team that co-led the 2019 MOV-UP study, will lead the project.
The Bad: Port Package money
The $1,000,000 set aside for Port Package Updates in the 2024 SB5955 has been permanently removed. As we reported, the money was kept with the Dept. Of Commerce for access by the Port of Seattle. Since the Port took no action in 2024 (instead using its own money to conduct the SIRRPP survey), the money was held over into 2025 – which left it vulnerable to budget cuts.
In this tough budget environment, we cannot blame either the Legislature or the Governor for this. As the saying goes, “Use it or lose it.” Responsibility for this lies squarely on the shoulders of the Port of Seattle.
At every step, the SIRRPP was designed to make any useful relief impossible. What should be galling to residents is the scale of the problem. After over 300 site visits, we know that $1,000,000 is a drop in the bucket. The Port could have identified qualified homes in a month and spent the rest of the year repairing homes. Not many, but not zero. The Port just burned $1,000,000 of free money, rather than help at least a few homeowners with failed Port Packages. Who does that?
Call to action
- As we’ve seen, a grant is not the same thing as results. The fixed site monitor at the north end of the airport was delayed for three years! This new site should be up and running within a few months, but cooperation from the City of Des Moines will be critical! Write the Des Moines City Council and tell them to make certain the new AQM gets done this summer!
- Write your State legislators, Senator Tina Orwall and Rep. Mia Gregerson and Edwin Obras. Tell them you want that money back in the State budget next year – along with new legislation that takes the Port to task for slow walking relief on Port Packages. By now, they should be (almost) as fed up with the Port’s lack of sincere cooperation as we are!
- There is an election this November. A majority of local city council seats and three Port Commission seats will be on the ballot. Start talking to candidates, new and incumbents and make sure they know where you stand on both these issues!