On the agenda will be a briefing on the Four Post Plan (how the FAA funnels traffic at Sea-Tac Airport) and an update on the Greener Skies Initiative, a FAA project focusing on aircraft using satellite-based technology to reduce track miles and descend more efficiently.

The public is invited to make comments at the start of the meeting.

The Highline Forum includes the southwest King County communities of Des Moines, Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Tukwila and Federal Way, as well as the Highline School District and Port of Seattle.

This year’s exercise consisted of two separate mock scenarios focusing on police and fire response. The first scenario centered around a flight that was ‘seized’ by a hostage taker. Police responded with appropriate tactics to practice techniques and procedures.

Volunteers were outfitted with theater makeup to represent a variety of injuries in an attempt to test medical care triage, treatment, and transport practices and procedures.

Port Police and Fire Departments lead each scenario response which included dozens of King County area mutual aid police and fire agencies. An estimated 50-75 pieces of equipment from fire engines to aid cars and up to 175 fire fighters were scheduled to participate, as well as police officers and SWAT teams. Additional first responders from the Port included Sea-Tac Airport Security, Airport Operations, Public Information and the Port Environmental team.

Following the exercise, a comprehensive report will be prepared post-exercise to identify any gaps in emergency planning and prioritize follow-up corrective actions.

Photographer Francis Zera was also on hand, and he created the following Sound Slideshow (make sure your speakers are turned on):

Click to Play Francis Zera’s Sound Slideshow

The Port of Seattle will be presenting “recommended options” to its ‘Part 150′ Noise Study at two public events in late June – in Federal Way on Tuesday, June 28th and at Sea-Tac Airport on Wednesday, June 29th.

Port staff and their consultant team will “present the draft recommended options for reducing aircraft noise in the newly proposed noise remedy area around the airport.” This work is being done as part of Sea-Tac Airport’s Part 150 Noise Study. Presentations will take place at the following two upcoming public events in late June.

• June 28 -Port of Seattle Commission Presentation at 1 p.m. -  City of Federal Way Council Chambers.  This is a regular Port Commission meeting.
• June 29 – Highline Forum Presentation at 2:30 p.m. -  Sea-Tac Airport Conference Center’s Beijing Conference Room.

Here’s more from the Port’s press release:

Preliminary recommended options that will be discussed at the two events include, but are not limited to, residential sound insulation programs, an aircraft engine testing facility designed to suppress noise and an updated noise monitoring system.

Later in the summer, the public will be able to provide input on the proposed recommendations at a public hearing and during a 45 day public comment period. Feedback gathered at the public events and during the public comment period will be taken into consideration before a final set of recommendations is sent to the Port of Seattle Commission for approval.

Please visit the dedicated Part 150 Study website for all documentation and reports connected to the study including the comprehensive summary from the April 9th public open house.

The next Part 150 Noise Study Open House will be from 10am – 4pm on Saturday, April 9th at Sea-Tac Airport’s Arrivals Hall.

This will be the fourth in a series of public events for for the airport’s Part 150 Noise Study, which, according to the Port’s website, is “looking at ways to reduce aircraft noise impacts on communities around Sea-Tac Airport.”

At the open house, there will be a number of stations staffed by Port staff and consultants where the public can learn more about the study’s findings and potential recommendations. Participants can also sign up for airfield bus tours throughout the day.

Interested parties are encouraged to “drop by anytime” between 10am – 4pm.

The Arrivals Hall is at the south end of the main terminal, baggage claim level (map).

Parking will be validated.

by Ralph Nichols

“Through a terrifying experience, I became involved in a fight against a local airport expansion. What I learned about jet emissions caused me great alarm and pushed me deep into a battle with nearly every agency in my state. These local issues turned into national and international aviation watch organizations working to unravel what appears to me to be a cover-up by the industry. The outcome of many of these battles, some of which turned into major discovery processes is disturbing.”

– Debi Wagner

A married working mom who lives with her family close to Sea-Tac International Airport in Burien – and a local airport communities activist for the last 17 years – Debi Wagner is the Author of the recently released book Over My Head.

Her first book, released in January by Trafford Publishing, Over My Head chronicles Wagner’s personal involvement and research into commercial jets and airport flight operations, which she says “spray cancer-causing chemicals from jet exhaust over homes, schools and playgrounds.”

She will have a book signing on Saturday, March 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Burien Books in Olde Burien. Over My Head is also available as a Kindle book from Amazon and a Nook book from Barnes & Noble.

The genesis of Wagner’s book – the experience that got her involved – occurred one morning before sunrise in the early 1990s.

“A military jet passed very low over my house in a thick fog. Its low altitude in the fog intensified the sound, and because military jet engines have a different sound, I thought the plane was in trouble. It scared the living daylights out of me.”

In the wake of this incident, Wagner started asking questions. “I wanted to know why that happened, what it was. And it gradually opened my eyes. There were hundreds of planes going straight over my home in a takeoff pattern every day. I realized I was living in a war zone.”

This, she continued, was the result of an increased number of flights that followed federal airline deregulation in the 1980s, and a “four-post” flight-path pattern subsequently adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration to limit the number of neighborhoods affected by jet noise.

But Wagner “didn’t get good answers” to her questions about the military jet and increasing flights over her home, fueling her new-found airport activism.

She also got runarounds about the airport’s second runway noise mitigation program, which was “extremely intrusive as far as my property rights were concerned.”

As the decade-long fight against a third Sea-Tac runway, which became operational in 2008, revved up, she got involved with the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE).

One thing led to another, including a meeting Minnie Brasher, a long-time local activist “who wanted me to look into jet emissions.”

Debi Wagner

Wagner did, and said she eventually “found out the public is literally being crop dusted with cancer-causing chemicals from jet exhaust for 12 miles from each runway end … and we have higher cancer rates in the airport communities.”

“That’s what I want people to know,” she added. “That’s why I wrote the book. Not just for people here but everywhere because these same planes fly from their airports affecting millions of people.”

“One of the biggest ‘toxic emissions load’ in the state comes from Sea-Tac,” Wagner said. “People live within blocks of the runways. Kids are attending schools located almost next door to the airport near, where whole families have died from cancer.”

“It’s ridiculous that nobody is doing anything about this serious problem.”

You can purchase Over My Head from Amazon here:

The Port of Seattle announced Thursday (Jan. 6) that Seattle Seahawk fans can score a half price parking discount for Saturday’s playoff game at Sea-Tac Airport, then take the Link Light Rail to the stadium stop in downtown Seattle

The 50% parking discount is for parking at the Terminal Direct level of the airport parking garage will allow Seahawk fans to “Score a Touchdown With Terminal Direct” and take Link Light Rail downtown. This extends the promotion offered season long for Seahawk home games at Qwest Field.

“Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac Airport offers the most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link Light Rail,” said the Port in a press release. “You’ll park on the 4th floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the SeaTac/Airport station.”

For Saturday’s playoff game, customers parking in Terminal Direct will enjoy a $2 per hour rate, 50% off the regular rate. The discount period begins at 11 a.m., two and a half hours before game time, and you get the chance to see the Seahawks without the hassle of downtown parking. Discounted parking is available for up to eight hours and will automatically be credited at the special rate when you exit the airport parking garage. A minimum stay of 3 hours is required and you must park in Terminal Direct.

Catch Link Light Rail on the Terminal Direct parking level and travel to the Stadium or International District Stations, where you’re an easy walk to Qwest Field. The airport’s Terminal Direct parking is a perfect way to make the connection to Link Light Rail and stay out of the traffic hassles on game days.

Fans riding Link to the game can skip any post-game ticket lines by purchasing a round trip ticket ahead of time or by using an ORCA card from any ticket vending machine before boarding. The round trip fare from SeaTac/Airport station on Link Light Rail to the Stadium station is $5.

On Wednesday, Nov. 17th, the members of the Highline Forum will discuss the Sea-Tac Airport Part 150 Noise Study at the Tukwila Community Center, located at 12424 42nd Avenue South in Tukwila.

The meeting begins at 2:30pm, and the public is invited to observe.

The Highline Forum includes the southwest King County communities of Des Moines, Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Tukwila and Federal Way and the Highline School District and Port of Seattle.

For more information, visit the dedicated Part 150 Study website for all documentation and reports connected to the study including the newly released Temporary Noise Measurement Report.

The Port of Seattle held its third Part 150 workshop on Oct. 27th with roughly 150 members of the public taking part. Progress and findings to date were discussed and included (according to the Port):

• New noise exposure contours for 2009 and 2016 – Both are included in the 10/27 airport-area noise contours presentation available on the Part 150 website. The noise exposure contours reflect the reduction in Sea-Tac’s air traffic that has occurred in the last few years and the greater use of quiet aircraft by the carriers.
• Possible Noise Mitigation Measures – A number of options are under consideration and are discussed in the 10/27 noise reduction alternatives presentation available on the Part 150 website.

by Jack Mayne

The Seattle Tacoma International Taxi Association (STITA) is no long providing service to passengers at the airport when at 2 a.m. Monday morning (Nov. 1st) the contract was taken over by Yellow Cab.

Most STITA cabs have only county licenses and are unable to pick up passengers inside the City of Seattle so an estimated 70 STITA cabs encircled City Hall downtown in a demonstration aimed at getting Mayor Mike McGinn to grant it temporary city licenses so it can operate in Seattle. Only 22 of the company’s 185 cabs have licenses to pick up passengers inside the city.

In a letter to the mayor, Harpreet S. Bassi, president of the STITA board of directors, said, “With Yellow Cab serving the Port now, many more City-licensed cabs are needed to avoid a shortage of taxi service in Seattle.

Dozens of cabs circled the block around Seattle City Hall in a show of support for STITA’s underemployed drivers Monday afternoon (Nov. 1st).

The Port contract with Yellow requires a large standby-by fleet of cabs at the airport so that incoming Seattle-Tacoma International Airport passengers can get taxis quickly.

“Now, Yellow Cab is serving the airport,” wrote Bassi to the mayor. “In order to fulfill its contractual commitments, including a minimum five-minute wait time for passengers, Yellow is moving a large chunk of its fleet – with more city-licensed cabs than any other taxi company in Seattle – to Sea-Tac Airport.

“With additional city licenses, STITA is ready to provide safe, reliable, professional service in its environmentally friendly vehicles to Seattle, creating a winning solution for the city and for STITA and its hundreds of families.”

The Port virtually created STITA 20 years ago in order to bring reliable taxi service to Sea-Tac that had previously seen great fluctuations of cab availabilities. Then last year, the Port decided to open the contract to bidding from the other cab companies in the area. The result was Yellow won the bid and was given the Port contract.

The change in contract was held for over two months while a legal battle launched by STITA was argued in court, a battle that STITA largely lost.

Aaron Pickus, assistant communications director in Mayor McGinn’s office, said at mid-afternoon there would be no immediate official response to the letter that they did not receive until after noon on Monday.

“They are asking for temporary licenses but the city does not issue temporary taxi licenses,” Pickus said. “We did look at the problem of cab licenses and we found there was not a need for more cab licenses at this time.”

Here’s the letter STITA sent to Mayor McGinn (click image to see larger version):

Click image to see larger version.

STITA Drivers protest outside Seattle City Hall Monday afternoon.

Read our previous coverage of the STITA issue here.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt was on hand to award the Voluntary Airport Low Emissions (VALE) Grant to fund construction of a pre-conditioned air project that will make Sea-Tac one of the nation’s few airports with a centralized system that covers the entire facility.

Once installed, the project is expected to reduce emissions by more than 50,000 metric tons of CO2, save airlines up to five million gallons of fuel and $10 million in fuel costs per year. The CO2 savings are the equivalent of taking 8,700 cars off the road. The project is expected to create 120 jobs.

“This program is helping airports around the country make needed technological investments so they can be more environmentally friendly,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The project will allow aircraft to hookup to pre-conditioned air provided by the airport at each gate. This allows planes to shutdown their auxiliary power units, which emit CO2 gases and other emissions, and cost the airlines fuel to operate. The cooled or heated air would be piped into the aircraft from a central utility plant at the airport. An estimated ten miles of piping will be used to complete the project.

“The Port of Seattle has made environmental leadership a priority; we are committed to reducing Sea-Tac Airport’s carbon footprint and this grant will help us do that,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Gael Tarleton.

The entire project is estimated to cost just over $33 million. The $18.3 million grant funding will cover the first phase of the project which will include 53 of Sea-Tac’s 81 gates. Construction is expected to begin in October and be completed by the end of 2011 for phase one. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.

The largest previous grant award from the VALE program was for $10.3 million to Philadelphia in 2009.

The remaining cost will be paid through Airport Development Funds which come directly from fees charged to airlines.  These fees will be more than offset by decreased airline operating costs estimated to be as much as $10 million per year for airlines at Sea-Tac.

“The size of this project is unusual for an airport in a temperate climate like ours, but we’ve shown this can make a tremendous impact on our environmental footprint, one of our key goals,” said Mark Reis, Sea-Tac Airport Managing Director. “The positive effects also include reduced noise from aircraft while they are parked at the gates.”

“The FAA is encouraging airlines and airports to find creative ways to reduce aviation’s impact on the environment,” said Administrator Babbitt.  “NextGen technology will also help aviation go even greener by significantly reducing the amount of fuel burned during air travel.”

Photographer Francis Zera was on hand to witness the demonstration, and he shot these pics for us:

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt

Gael Tarleton, Port of Seattle Commissioner

Rep. Jim McDermott

A worker begins the unfurling of the VALE hose...

...and unfurls...

...unfurls some more...

...and more...

...hooks it up to the underbelly of the plane...

…then watch as it gets turned on:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The next “Part 150″ noise study public workshop will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 27th,

This will be the third in a series of public workshops, which, according to the Port of Seattle, are “looking at ways to reduce aircraft noise impacts on communities.”

Here are the details:

WHAT: The Port of Seattle’s “Part 150″ Noise Study Workshop.

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 27th from 6:30pm – 8:30pm.

WHERE: Mount Rainier High School, located at 22450 19th Avenue S., Des Moines (click here for a map).

INFO: At the workshop, facilitators will lead three group sessions on the following topics:

• Airport-area noise exposure “contour” maps showing neighborhoods currently affected by noise, and those that will be affected in five years, according to the aviation forecast;
• Results from summer 2010 temporary aircraft noise monitoring; and
• The progress on other efforts to reduce noise, including updates on the runway use plan and the hush house analysis.

Workshop participants are invited to take part in all three sessions, and a general public feedback session at the conclusion of the workshop.

For more information, as well as documentation for the workshop, visit the Part 150 Study Website here.