Officials from Burien, SeaTac and Des Moines told residents on Tuesday, July 14 that they have significant concerns about the Port of Seattle’s draft environmental review for the Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP), including potential impacts on noise, traffic, air quality, water resources and communities near the airport.
The open house at Burien City Hall focused on the Port’s draft environmental impact SAMP for 31 near-term expansion projects at Sea-Tac Airport. City staff said the projects include terminal, airfield, cargo, fuel, roadway, utility and supporting infrastructure work.
The meeting included representatives from the cities of Burien, SeaTac and Des Moines, including Burien Community Development Director Liz Steed, SeaTac Senior Planner Zach Shields and Des Moines Community Development Director Rebecca Deming, who presented the cities’ shared review of the airport plan. Burien Mayor Sarah Moore, who chairs the city’s Airport Committee, also attended, along with Burien and Des Moines elected officials, airport committee members, state Sen. Tina Orwall and community members concerned about airport-related impacts.
“This proposal is not a single construction project,” said Zach Shields, senior planner for the City of SeaTac. “It’s actually 31 projects.”
Burien Community Development Director Liz Steed said Burien, SeaTac and Des Moines have worked together since 2018 under an interlocal agreement to review and comment on the airport plan’s environmental documents. Normandy Park was previously part of the agreement but has since withdrawn, she said.
“Times have changed, people have changed, but the commitment has not changed,” Steed said. “The commitment to represent our communities.”
According to the presentation, the Port identified surface transportation as the only area with a significant impact requiring mitigation. City staff said they are reviewing whether the Port’s conclusions are supported by sufficient analysis and whether mitigation commitments are specific enough.
Rebecca Deming, community development director for th City of Des Moines, said the cities’ review to date found concerns with several parts of the draft environmental review. Those include the use of future airport growth as part of the baseline comparison, reliance on older air quality modeling, limited monitoring data near the airport and deferred mitigation details.
Deming said the cities also found concerns related to hazardous materials, contaminated sites, fuel farm expansion, PFAS contamination, demolition surveys, land use compatibility, noise analysis, traffic modeling, wetlands, stormwater and biological resources.
On noise, Deming said the draft review does not identify mitigation for increased noise exposure and instead references an ongoing Part 150 update, which she said is voluntary and still in progress. She said the 2037 action alternative would expand the 65-decibel contour by 0.66 square miles, adding 1,851 housing units and 4,439 people.
On transportation, Deming said the review evaluates only weekday afternoon peak-hour conditions, despite airport activity that includes early morning departures, cargo demand, late evening passenger activity and weekend peaks.
Steed reminded attendees that public comments are due by 4 p.m. July 21 (submit your at the bottom of this page). She said comments made to city staff during the open house would not be forwarded directly to the Port, but themes from the meeting could be included in city comments.
“We are putting together an extremely substantial response from the three cities,” Steed said.
Residents were encouraged to submit comments directly through the SAMP website and to focus on how airport operations and the proposed projects could affect their lives.
Mayor Sarah Moore of Burien, who also chairs the city’s airport committee, thanked staff and residents for engaging with the issue.
“I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this information from the minute it came out,” Moore said. “I’ve been explaining it to myself in people-sized pieces.”
Sen. Tina Orwall, who represents the 33rd District, also spoke.
“It’s such a complex document (the SAMP) that we’re all struggling to really understand, but I don’t think it takes a lot for us to know the cumulative effect and that adding cargo and international flights is going to have a profound impact on us,” Orwall said.
Aviation Forum this Saturday, July 18 at Highline College
As we previously reported, an Aviation Forum is scheduled for 1–2 p.m. this Saturday, July 18 at Highline College. Orwall will join Rep. Adam Smith to continue the discussion on airport expansion.
Video
Below is full video of the meeting, courtesy the City of Burien (running time 38-minutes, 17-seconds):
