Story & Photos by Rachel M. Lusby

Noise problems were the primary topic on the minds of at least 30 attendees at Wednesday’s C.A.S.E. meeting (Citizens Against SeaTac Expansion). Managing Director of Sea-Tac International Airport, Mark Reis, was there to answer questions.

Also in attendance was Port of Seattle Media Officer Perry Cooper.

Reis began the meeting by saying “airports are big facilities and they have impact.” He says not only is the noise something to be acknowledged, but so are the environmental impacts on the areas around the airport.

“The environmental initiatives I’m taking are something I’m very proud of,” he says.

Sea-Tac Airport Managing Director Mark Reis spoke to at least 30 at the Wednesday night C.A.S.E. meeting.

Sea-Tac Airport, according to Reis, has the most aggressive recycling program out of most all other airport facilities in the nation. He says the programs in place, including a storm water project, a plan to bring bio-jet fuel to the airport as soon as 2012, are “discretionary actions on our part;” meaning they are being done without the request or requirement of any rules or laws.

After his quick speech, Reis allowed for questions from the audience. Many were concerned about the noise level since the completion of the third runway.

“The F.A.A. had a disorganized approach to using the third runway,” Reis said. “We helped the F.A.A. understand the use of the third runway was important to us and to them and we made a remarkable change in two months.”

As for the noise level, Reis says they are in the process of checking that their projections from the Part 150 study were accurate. He says the perception that they have decided what the outcome of all this is going to be, is inaccurate.

Comments and suggestions of how to resolve the noise problem began to come from the audience.

Suggestions of building a wall, such as what is found at the King County International Airport/Boeing Field, and a “hush house,” where aircraft engine maintenance and testing is done so the noise does not affect neighboring areas, were among the most popular ideas.

Reis simply said “during the single situation evaluation we will consider what could be used to cut noise.”

He said a wall may or may not be a safety hazard in this situation but they will be looking into as an option.

Other concerns from attendees of the meeting were property values. One woman was upset over the devaluing of her property because of the airport noise but having to still pay taxes to the Port of Seattle.

“None of the property tax goes to the airport,” Reis said. “That money goes to the seaport.”

Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 2nd, from 7pm to 9pm

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adm. Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

INFO: From an email release:

You, your friends and neighbors are invited to attend our monthly December CASE meeting.

CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting. Brett will recognize our elected leaders attending and introduce the speakers. Current usage of Sea-Tac Airport with the 3rd runway operations will be the main topic of this meeting.

Stan Shepherd, Sea-Tac’s Manager of Airport Noise Programs, will be the primary speaker on the current runway statistics & other flight information.  Mr. Shepherd will include a presentation on the present state of the Part 150 study for Airport Operations.

The F.A.R. Part 150 Noise Compatibility Regulation sets out rules and guidelines and authorizes Federal assistance for preparation of airport noise compatibility programs.  Part 150 provides for the preparation of two types of information: Noise Exposure Maps, which describe existing noise conditions in the Airport area and provide guidelines for the mitigation of those of us impacted by airport operations.

Questions and Comments from the floor on this subject or on other issues will be welcome.

This is a good opportunity to better understand how the Part 150 Study will be conducted and what citizen involvement (if any) will be allowed.

If you have questions or need directions, call 206-824-6589.

Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 4th, from 7pm to 9pm

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adm. Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

INFO: CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and will recognize elected leaders attending and introduce speakers.

There will be two subjects to discuss at the meeting:

1. The several environmental issues resulting from SeaTac airport polluted waste discharges.
2. Noise pollution resulting from the 3rd runway operations.

RCAA/CASE Consultant Greg Wingard will brief attendees on the results of the Port’s improvements of the storm water system which had an early trend of reducing pollution into area streams but currently the pollution is getting worse rather than better since June, 2008. Greg will also give an update on the status of Ecology’s Toxic Cleanup Program of the Lora Lake Apartments dioxin contaminated site.

Stuart Jenner, RCAA Board Member, will discuess his measurements of aircraft noise at various locations within the 3rd runway area.  He will also share some observations of the Sept. 29th forum on the increased noise held at the Criminal Justice Training Center.

Questions or Comments will be welcomed.

If you have questions or need directions, call 206-824-6589.

Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 7th, from 7pm to 9pm

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adm. Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

INFO: CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and briefly update us on a number of actions/issues with the Port of Seattle and with the 3rd runway operations. The primary goal of the meeting is to meet and hear from our political candidates running for office.

All Local November 3th election candidates for King County Executive Offices, Port of Seattle Commissioner position, local City Council and other positions (Burien, Normandy Park, Des Moines, SeaTac, Tukwila and Federal Way) have been invited to attend. This meeting will give them additional time to inform us voters of their qualifications and allow us to hear how they respond to the voter concerns.

Questions or Comments will be heard as time allows.

If you have questions or need directions, call 206-824-6589.

The Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (C.A.S.E.) is holding their monthly “Sea-Tac Expansion” Meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd from 7pm to 9pm at the ERAC offices, located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW.

Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, September 2nd, from 7pm to 9pm.

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adm. Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

INFO: CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and briefly update us on a number of actions/issues we have with the Port of Seattle and with the 3rd runway operations. These will include:

• The significant noise Increase resulting from the operations using the 3rd runway is much greater than predicted prior to the construction because of the 24-hour use was not planned. Our State Representative Dave Upthegrove and Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler, former Director of the ACC (Airport Cities Coalition), will be available to speak on this subject.
• The multiyear study by the WA State Aviation Planning Council, started in 2005, has been completed and reported to the governor. The results do not identify the next regional airport in Washington as was expected. RCAA Operations Manager Chas Talbot will update us on this subject.
• Construction is still continuing on the re-construction of the #1 runway.
• Questions or Comments will be heard as time allows.

If you have questions or need directions, call 206-824-6589.

The focus this week will be on complaints by residents over the third runway, the potential class-action lawsuit against the Port of Seattle, noise meter usage as well as a possible GPS landing system solution.

Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly “Sea-Tac Expansion” Meeting

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adminstration Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

WHEN: Wednesday May 6th, from 7pm to 9pm

INFO: “You, your friends and neighbors are invited to attend our April monthly CASE meeting.

CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and will recognize our elected leaders attending and introduce the speakers. Our meeting will still focus not only on the complaints of residents of broken promises of 3rd runway operations causing noise, toxic fumes and loss of property values, but also the potential class-action lawsuit to recover damages.

Brett, Stuart Creighton and other long time experts others attending will be available to discuss concerns. Residents are encouraged to voice their complaints and anger resulting from the 3rd runway operations. The port of Seattle has been invited to attend the meeting and be available for questions.

A retired engineer, Jack Wimpress, will speak to us on the use of a GPS landing system which would eliminate the need for a 3rd runway operation. Stuart Jenner and Mike Jacobi will report on the current status on the RCAA/CASE noise meter calibration and the planned usage making our own measurements of the noise resulting from operations of the 3rd runway.

If you have questions or need directions, call 206-824-6589.

Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly “Sea-Tac Expansion” Meeting

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adminstration Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

WHEN: Wednesday April 1st, from 7pm to 9pm

INFO: “You, your friends and neighbors are invited to attend our April monthly CASE meeting.

CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and will recognize our elected leaders attending and introduce the speakers.

We have two main subjects to discuss at the meeting:

• John Shambaugh, Senior WSDOT Aviation Planner and the Aviation Planning Council will give us a presentation on the state-wide aviation studies (“LATS”).  This Long Term Air Transportation Study was authorized by the state legislature in 2005, LATS is in the final phase of the study to determine what the State of Washington has, what they need and how to meet the needs regarding statewide aviation capacity.   Final recommendation on LATS is due to the governor and legislature on July 1st.   Public comments on the study will be accepted during the meeting.
• The Port of Seattle and the Department of Ecology (DOE) will present the current action plans for the above-ground demolition of the contaminated buildings at the Lora Lake Apartment property.

The RCAA noise meter is currently being calibrated for use in measuring noise levels resulting from the 3rd runway operations.  This subject is being scheduled to be covered in greater detail at the May 6th CASE meeting with a report of the testing to date.

Questions and Comments from the floor will be welcome.

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Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly “Sea-Tac Expansion” Meeting

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Adminstration Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien.

WHEN: Wednesday March 4th, from 7pm to 9pm

INFO: “You, your friends and neighbors are invited to attend our March monthly CASE meeting.

CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and will recognize our elected leaders attending and introduce the speakers. We have two (and possibly three, time permitting) subjects to discuss at the meeting: the SeaTac airport industrial polluted waste discharge 402 Permit (NPDES) renewal and noise pollution resulting from the 3rd runway.”

Speakers identified to date include:

• Ed Abassi, DOE permit writer and RCAA/CASE Consultant Greg Wingard will brief us on the changes that have been incorporated into the renewal of the existing permit. This permit must be renewed every 5-years in order to keep improving the clean water quality.
• Arun Jhaveri, Former Mayor of Burien during the 3rd Runway planning, will give us his comments on the current operational use of the 3rd runway. RCAA Director Stuart Jenner will give us the status us on recent noise measurements.
• Time permitting, Normandy Park City Council Woman Marion Yoshino will discuss her position on completion of Highway 509 to connect with I-5.

Questions and Comments from the floor will be welcome.

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Here’s more info:

WHAT: CASE Monthly “Sea-Tac Expansion” Meeting

WHERE: ERAC (Highline District Administration Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW

WHEN: Wednesday February 4th, 2009 from 7pm to 9pm

INFO:

Hello Friends and Neighbors against the environmental damages from expansion and operations of the SEA-TAC Airport:

You, your friends and neighbors are invited to attend our February monthly CASE meeting.

CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and briefly update us on the DOE draft release of the NPDES Permit that requires the Port to obey (treatment) when releasing polluted airport storm water into waters of the state.  A future Public Hearing will be held later.  Brett will recognize our elected leaders attending and introduce the speakers.

The main purpose of this meeting will be to give any additional impacted people a platform to vent their disappointment and anger caused by their loss of quality of life, including financial loss of property value, resulting from use of the 3rd runway to increase normal airport operations rather than to reduce bad weather operations as planned.

At the January 8th meeting of the Highline Forum to discuss the issue of 3rd runway operations and increased airport noise, the limited hour of public comments proved that many Highline residents are very much impacted and should receive immediate mitigation.  With the current plan, mitigation will be many years away, if ever.  We need to keep the pressure on the Port and FAA to mitigate all those impacted and restore our lifestyle and the quality of life to that prior to operations with the 3rd runway.

Members of the Port staff and Port Commissioners have been invited.

Questions and Comments from the floor will be welcome.

If you have questions or need directions, call me on 206-824-6589.

Thanks.

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The Port of Seattle committed “fraud” by misrepresenting its actual plan for use of the third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport until after the controversial addition went into operation on Nov. 20, CASE (Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion) president Brett Fish of Burien charged at a meeting of the watchdog group Wednesday evening.

“I know that’s a strong term, but I don’t know what else to say….”

“A lot of heads should roll down the third runway,” Fish declared as he criticized port officials for using it 24/7 as a primary runway, even in good weather conditions, despite repeated pre-construction assurances that it would be used only in bad weather – and then primarily for landings to prevent flight delays. “They lied about not using it as a main runway…. Do we want to become a jet ghetto? I don’t think so. It’s our job to turn this thing around.”

And the first step in turning things around, both Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler and Fish emphasized, is for Highline residents who are experiencing negative impacts from third runway flight operations to speak out at a public meeting of the Highline Forum with port officials at 2 p.m. Thursday, January 8, at the port office on the mezzanine level of the main terminal at Sea-Tac. Parking will be validated upon request.

Sheckler also is co-chairman of the Highline Forum, which is comprised of the cities of Des Moines, Normandy Park, Burien, Tukwila, SeaTac and Federal Way, the Highline School District, and the port. The forum – which replaced the Airport Communities Coalition that for a decade tried to block the third runway – was organized after construction got underway to promote cooperative relationships between the Sea-Tac and neighboring cities.

“I never expected to be before you again on third runway issues. At least I hoped I wouldn’t be,” Sheckler told CASE members. But now it’s “very, very clear how it’s operating,” he observed. “It’s like a main runway … it’s obvious to me that the third runway will continue to be used as a main runway. So the focus needs to be on mitigation.”

In the past, Sheckler continued, “the port has been fairly good on addressing issues of mitigation. But this is really a big one…. When the third runway was built, they never looked at it in terms of impact by its use as a main runway…. We need to ask them, ‘What are you going to do about it?’”

Noting that “we were caught off guard” by the immediate use of third runway as a main rather than a backup runway – which Highline communities had been assured it would be – he added, “We weren’t prepared for this. The first thing we have to do now is see what the port’s response is. We hope to find that out” at Thursday’s meeting. “I want everyone to remember to ask, ‘Why did you tell us that?’”

Asked by one community resident about the possibility of suing the Port – and even the Federal Aviation Administration – for damages, Sheckler replied, “That’s what I’m hoping to avoid. I hope the port does not have a short-term memory loss…. But if the third runway becomes a major issue … there’s going to be hell to pay for it.”

While CASE membership is comprised of veterans of the anti-third-runway fight, an outspoken newcomer is Miriam Bearse of Burien, who moved to the city late last year. “We weren’t aware of the third runway when we bought our home,” she said. But the impact on their lives has “been astounding…. That roar (of jets flying low overhead). The whistling. It sounds like it’s getting so close…. No matter how hard I try, it strikes fear in me.

“That the port should be able to go back on their word is incredible,” Bearse declared. “I don’t think that we should stand for it.”

She said a meeting for affected homeowners and renters only, at which the possibility of legal action against the port will be discussed, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, at the SeaTac Community Center (full details here).

Burien Deputy Mayor Rose Clark, who lives close to the third runway, said noise from flight operations “is an increasing problem” that rattles her windows to the point that she is concerned they will break eventually. “We need to do something soon.”

Beyond the possibility of such damage, Clark is concerned about the negative impact on the value of neighboring homes. Her house “was devalued by $20,000 by King County” due to the second runway at Sea-Tac. “Now I expect its devaluation to be even greater.”

The impact of devaluation doesn’t stop with individual homeowners. “Property devaluation also impacts local cities and the Highline School District,” she noted, “because lower valuation results in less property tax revenue.”

One member of the audience noted that a port representative had told a long-time resident, who complained about the noise, “It’s your fault for living there.”

Another exclaimed, “Since the state is out of money and the feds are out of money, why don’t we just shut the goddamn runway down?”

But, observed a third, there is little community residents can do because the “jet airplane mobsters” operate under laws passed by Congress.

Both the port and the FAA are expected to study the impacts of the third runway – a process that could take months if not years. “In the meantime,” Fish suggested, “have them back off on the use of the third runway and do what they said they would.”

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The B-Town Blog would like to welcome its newest Writer, Nicholas Wolfe, to its team. Wolfe is an investigative journalist who will be covering community issues. Look for more of his coverage of the third runway noise issue soon!]