On Thursday night, April 25, over 250 people filled the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien to hear a 2+ hour Town Hall on airport noise, health effects from increasing airplane traffic and more from the League of Quiet Skies Voters.
Emceed by local activist/filmmaker Steve Edmiston, who presented “Aviation Noise and Emission 101,” this Town Hall featured:
- A keynote speech from Congressman Adam Smith, sponsor of the Aviation Impacted Communities Act
- Presentation from Airnoise.io noise complaint button creator Chris McCann
- Special report on the World Health Organization’s Environmental Noise Guidelines
- State legislative update from Rep. Mike Pellicciotti and Rep. Tina Orwall
- Larry Cripe, Founder of the Quiet Skies Coalition
- Quiet Skies Puget Sound Founder Sheila Brush
- Airport activist Debi Wagner and more
Also seen in the crowd were all members of the Des Moines City Council, Des Moines City Manager Michael Matthias, Burien Mayor Jimmy Matta, along with councilmembers Austin Bell and Bob Edgar, City Manager Brian Wilson, SeaTac councilmembers Peter Kwon and Joel Wachtel, Normandy Park Mayor Jonathon Chicquette and many others.
Watch an edited (for time) version of the full event below (running time 1:47):
ABOUT THE LEAGUE OF QUIET SKIES VOTERS
The League of Quiet Skies Voters seeks to empower voters that live in the shadow of the 8th busiest airport in the United States with information about human health and the environment, so that our voices – your voices – can be heard. We want voters in all our airport neighbor communities – here and around the United States – to be empowered with knowledge so that each of us understands our rights and our choices, and the confidence to engage and participate with our policymakers. Learn more here: https://www.loqsv.org.
ABOUT THE QUIET SKIES COALITION
Our mission is to restore the quiet skies over the greater Burien area. Historically, the greater Burien area has seen only sporadic overflights from aircraft departures from Seattle-Tacoma airport. This is because north flow departures historically remained on a northern trajectory until they were approximately five miles north of takeoff. Learn more here: https://www.quietskiescoalition.net.
ABOUT THE BRIEFING PROJECT
Steve Edmiston is responding to an FAA and Port staff briefing in Spring, 2017 that he contends was both incomplete and inadequate because it failed to convey, among other things, data on the harms being caused to humans and the environment by airplanes. As a private citizen, under Port bylaws, Edmiston must provide his own 43-minute briefing – the same time provided to the FAA and Port staff – in two-minute public comment segments. The goals of this project include using Edmiston’s collected public comments as the spine of a feature documentary film. More info at https://www.quadrant45.com/#/thebriefingproject/.
ABOUT AIRNOISE.IO
Airport noise complaints are a pain to file, but you know you have to speak up. Airnoise.io provides the simplest, fastest ways to make your voice heard, to help your community, and get your life back. Airport authorities don’t make it easy to file noise complaints, but we do. With the click of a button, instantly locate loud, bothersome flights, automatically file a complaint, and get back to the things that matter to you. Learn more here: https://airnoise.io.
MORE INFO:
- Quiet Skies Puget Sound
- Quiet Skies Coalition
- Federal Way Air Noise Alliance
- The Briefing Project