The first in a series of public workshops for Sea-Tac Airport’s “Part 150 Noise Study” is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24th at Mount Rainier High School (locatrd at 22450 19th Ave. South in Des Moines) beginning at 5:15pm.

So if you have something to say about airport noise, this would be the place to air your thoughts and hope that the Port of Seattle hears you.

Doors open at 5pm, with the program beginning at 5:15pm.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Public workshop for Sea-Tac Airport’s “Part 150 Noise Study” program

WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 24th beginning at 5:15pm

WHERE: Mt. Rainier High School, located at 22450 19th Ave South in Des Moines

INFO: From a press release:

The Part 150 Study will look at ways to reduce aircraft noise impacts on communities. Throughout the study, the public is invited to participate in the solution and recommendation process through active engagement in a series of topical workshops.

The February 24th workshop will include a brief presentation followed by facilitator-led, small-group working sessions designed to gather the public’s input on refining the scope for the Part 150 Study. So, please review the meeting agenda and come prepared with ideas.

Visit the dedicated Part 150 Study Website – the single location for all documentation connected to the study.

A public workshop for Sea-Tac Airport’s Part 150 Noise Study is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24th, from 5pm – 7pm at Mount Rainier High School, which is located at 22450 19th Ave South in Des Moines.

The Part 150 Study looks at ways to reduce aircraft noise impacts on communities. Throughout the study, the public is invited to participate in the solution and recommendation process through active engagement in a series of topical workshops.

For more information, visit the dedicated Part 150 Study website here that has been established as the single location for all documentation connected to the study.

Up to six additional public workshops will be held throughout the Part 150 Study process. This first meeting will introduce and orient the participants to the Part 150 process as well as further “scope” the study itself. In order to do that, the consultants will facilitate small group discussions with the participants to talk about their concerns and what they are hoping to see included in the study. Records of these sessions and the input received will be kept and factored into the study. The Port will soon launch an advertising campaign publicizing the meeting and they will make sure the members of the Forum get additional information.

Public workshops are not the only vehicle that will be used to engage the public. The Port wants to make sure community leaders, such as the members of the Highline Forum, and the general public has ample opportunity to review the status of the project and offer their thoughts and recommendations. The Port will be providing just that at the regular Highline Forum meetings. In addition, the Part 150 Study team will be available to attend a City Council meeting or meet with the representatives of a specific neighborhood or organization.

There will be a public hearing and comment period at the end of the process. More information will be provided at that time when there is a fully developed set of recommended actions.

More info available at these links:

• Part 150 Scope of Services (PDF)
• Port of Seattle’s “Air Mail” (PDF)

According to the Port’s Part 150 website:

The Part 150 Study process is designed to identify noise incompatibilities surrounding an airport, and to recommend measures to both correct existing incompatibilities and to prevent future incompatibilities. For Part 150 Study purposes, noise incompatibilities are defined as residences or public use noise-sensitive facilities (libraries, churches, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals) within the 65 Day-Night Average Sound Level (DNL) noise contour.

The purpose for conducting a Part 150 Study is to develop a balanced and cost-effective plan for reducing current noise impacts from the airport’s operations, where practical, and to limit additional impacts in the future.

Among the general goals and objectives addressed by a Part 150 Study are the following:

• To reduce, where feasible, existing and forecasted noise levels over existing noise-sensitive land uses;
• To reduce new noise-sensitive developments near the airport;
• To mitigate, where feasible, adverse impacts in accordance with Federal guidelines;
• To provide mitigation measures that are sensitive to the needs of the community and its stability; and
• To be consistent, where feasible, with local land use planning and development policies.

Specific goals for this Part 150 Study include the following:

• To address noise issues related to the third runway;
• To conduct the process in an open and engaging way; and
• To look for opportunities that have not been thought of versus re-visiting old issues.

This study will identify existing and future flight corridors, develop aircraft noise exposure maps for current and future conditions, evaluate air traffic control procedures that could be implemented to reduce noise exposure over residential areas, consider land use controls that could be established to reduce future incompatible land uses from being developed within high noise areas, and evaluate means to mitigate noise impacts within high noise exposure areas.

It is anticipated that the Part 150 Study will be completed in late 2011. After completion, it will be submitted to the FAA. The review period by the FAA is typically 6-9 months.

According to the story, some local residents are complaining that the new Light Link rail system is just too noisy.

One resident even bought a decibel meter and measured the noise level near his house, with measurements reaching as high as 88 decibels. An average vacuum cleaner runs between 75 to 80 decibels and airplanes on an airport tarmac around 120 decibels.

Sound Transit has apparently insulated a number of homes in the Rainier Valley, and has also installed air conditioning units in others where it was determined that noise might disrupt residents during summer’s open-window months.

We’re not sure if a class action lawsuit lies in Sound Transit’s future, so keep your ears open.

Read the full story here, and please take our poll:

About 100 Highline residents and local public officials, angry and frustrated with flight operations involving the third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport, voiced their complaints to Port of Seattle representatives at a special meeting of the Highline Forum on Thursday.

While noise and pollution from low-flying commercial jets using the new runway – and the negative impact these have on property values – are significant concerns, their primary grievance is that the port either reneged on assurances to the community that it would have limited use as a backup landing strip in inclement weather or misrepresented the actual intent for its operation.

The disagreement between the airport’s residential neighbors and the port over use of the third runway was highlighted in an exchange between State Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, and Sea-Tac Managing Director Mark Reis.

A pre-construction supplemental Environmental Impact Statement said the third runway would be operated “in bad and good weather conditions” along with the other two runways to maintain air traffic flow, Reis noted.

“During poor and good weather, this is increasing the efficient operating capability of the airport during peak hours,” he added. “We never said it would be used in bad weather only.

But, countered Keiser, “The community was led (by the port) to believe that the third runway would be used in cases of bad weather when safe landings created a need (for its operation). That was the premise that the Environmental Impact Statement. Now here we are with the third runway in operation.

“The premise seems to have changed from being used as a foul-weather type of facility. It’s been shifted, and I am very concerned about what that does to the process on the EIS,” she said.”

Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler, co-chairman of the Highline Forum, told Reis, “The senator and I are on the same page here.” During the decade-long debate over the third runway, he recalled, port representatives “brought to the ACC (Airport Communities Coalition) over and over that it would be used for arrivals only in bad weather…. That’s what the port has been saying.”

The Highline Forum, comprised of the cities of Des Moines, Normandy Park, Burien, Tukwila, SeaTac and Federal Way, the Highline School District, and the port, was organized after construction of the third runway got underway to promote cooperative relationships between Sea-Tac and neighboring cities. It replaced the Airport Communities Coalition that for a decade tried to block the third runway and secured environmental regulations for airport operations.

Earlier, Sheckler asked Reis, “Is it fair to say that the third runway is going to be used as a fully functioning runway?” “Yes,” Reis replied. Since it became operational on Nov. 20, Sea-Tac has used two runways in bad conditions and all three in good weather.

But Federal Aviation Administration, not the airport, directs air traffic – including the use of runways, Reis and Stan Shepherd, manager of airport noise programs, both said. The port manages general operations at Sea-Tac, including noise control and mitigation in impacted neighborhoods.

Three FAA representatives were in attendance as observers.

Sheckler also quizzed Reis about how long it will take for the impacts of third runway operations to be fully mitigated by the port. Although it could take between three and five years, Reis said, “The public process does not need to be drawn out too long.”

The supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which was prepared in 1997, estimated that by 2010 almost 28 percent of all flights arriving at Sea-Tac would use the third runway. But according to data from the port, 44 percent of inbound planes landed on it through Dec. 17. This, port officials said, reflects the low visibility that generally occurs in November and December, and that this figure is expected to go down in the spring and summer months.

Reis said the port “did the best we could to project what was going to be the noise associated with operation of the runway,” and that the FAA now is looking for ways to reduce its impact, including not using the runway between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and not landing older, noisier jets on it.

Dr. Dagmar Cronn, president of the South Park Neighborhood Association, said residents in her community “are unhappy or shocked about the increase in noise. Suddenly they noticed more planes and more noise overhead.” She asked that mitigation be provided by the port to offset the decline in home values and the disruption of sleep patterns and the quality of life.

“The noise is unacceptable,” said Benjamin Stark of Des Moines. Asking where the money for mitigation will come from with mounting deficits in both the federal and state governments, he suggested, “It seems to me that the thing to do is just shut it down.”

Several residents described how third runway flight operations have destroyed their ability to live normal lives in their homes and deflated the value of their property.

Reis said the port will continue to study its impacts on the surrounding area. In the meantime, he cautioned residents, the third runway will be in full operation from April through late October while Sea-Tac’s first runway is completely rebuilt.

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!]

They say that great things come in threes (unless of course you live under the new flightpath and you’re talking about airport runways…), and this coming week is no exception, as there will now be THREE meetings scheduled to discuss the third runway and the Port of Seattle!

The latest will be put on by CASE, aka Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion, which has a long history of battling the Port of Seattle over the airport expansion.

Well, they haven’t given up yet folks, and their next meeting is this coming Wed., Jan, 7th, from 7pm to 9pm. Here are the details:

WHAT: CASE Monthly “Sea-Tac Expansion” Meeting

WHERE: ERAC  (Highline District Adminstration Office), located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW,  Burien (near Azteca & Hi-Line Lanes)

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

INFO: From the invitation sent out by Brett Fish:

You and your friends and neighbors are invited to attend our January monthly CASE meeting. CASE President Brett Fish will conduct the meeting and briefly update us on the DOE draft release of the NPDES Permit.  The main subject of this meeting will be to hear additional comments on the airport noise caused by the new flight patterns currently being used with operations with the 3rd runway.

Speakers at this meeting will include new voices from North, West and East of the airport.   Many of these neighbors do not have noise insulation provided by the Port because of the different predictions of flight operations and/or calculations by averaging noise over time by the Port.  These neighbors have measured the noise levels to be “equivalent to that of a motorcycle level” in their back yards.

One neighborhood mother complained that “her baby used to sleep through the night but now wakes up every half-hour”; another “It feels like we’re in a war zone,” said Miriam Bearse, who lives north of the third runway in Burien. “It feels like bombers going overhead every five minutes at low altitude.”

We are inviting representatives from the Port of Seattle and the FAA to attend the meeting and to respond to the complaints and the plans to fix them and who will be responsible.

Bob Sheckler and the Port have announced that the postponed Special Session of the Highline Forum on aircraft noise has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 8th.  Members of the Highline Forum will meet at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s Conference Center from 2:00 to 3:00 PM to discuss aircraft noise connected to the new third runway.  Mark Reis, the Airport’s Managing Director, along with Port staff will provide information and answer questions from the members of the Highline Forum. The public is invited to observe.   At 3 PM, we will adjourn the meeting of the Highline Forum and dedicate the next hour as a Port of Seattle public comment period.  Members of the public will be invited to provide remarks. The public comment period will end at 4 PM.

Questions and Comments from the floor will be welcome.

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

Thanks.

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Not to cause confusion or anything, but there’s a second, very important meeting coming up Thursday, Jan. 8th regarding Sea-Tac Airport’s third runway (another residents meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 10th):

The Highline Forum will discuss the use of Sea-Tac Airport’s new third runway since its opening, with emphasis on public complaints that the runway is not being used as promised on Thursday, Jan. 8th, from 2pm to 4pm.

This public meeting will take place at the Sea-Tac Airport Conference Center, Mezzanine Level.

Everyone is invited to attend, especially residents who’d have comments or complaints on the third runway.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Final Highline Forum and Port of Seattle Public Comment Period

WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 8th;  2-3pm: Highline Forum; 3-4pm: Port of Seattle Public Comment Period

WHERE: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Conference Center, Mezzanine Level

AGENDA: 2pm Welcome & Introduction of Topic Co-chairs

Meeting Topic: The Highline Forum will discuss the use of the third runway since its opening. In particular, the Highline Forum will address public complaints that the runway is not being used as promised.

• Data depicting how the runway has operated to date Mark Reis, POS
• EIS assumptions for predicting use and impacts Mark Reis, POS
• Current usage of runway Mark Reis, POS
• 2:30 pm Questions & Answers Highline Forum
• 3:00 pm Forum Adjourns & Opening of Port Public Comment Period
• 4:00 pm Port Public Comment Period Ends

DIRECTIONS: Directions to the Airport Conference Center:

• Park in daily parking (floors 5-8) at the south end of the Airport Garage near the yellow or green elevators (rows N-U).
• Take the elevator to the fourth floor and walk across the skybridge #1, between the yellow elevator bank and the green elevator bank, to the Main Terminal.
• Take the escalator or elevator up to the ticketing level.
• The stairs and elevator to the Mezzanine Level are directly behind the international and Hawaiian Airlines ticket counters.
• Enter the reception area though the double glass doors for the Aviation Division Offices.
• The receptionist will direct you to the right conference room. Ask for parking validation (you never know).

The intent of this meeting will be for city officials to discuss whether the newly-opened and controversial third runway is being used as the Port promised it would be – on “severe weather” days only, as well as how many planes are landing on it and subsequent noise complaints from area residents.

According to our source:

This meeting is “public,” so all can attend but NOT participate or speak.

It is imperative we understand this or the meeting will end immediately with nothing accomplished.

We must speak through our local cities’ electeds at this Forum which is fine by me.

Our previous coverage of area residents’ complaints about the third runway include these stories:

• Has The Third Runway Increased Noise In Burien? (Nov. 24th)
• Third Runway Noise Problem Not Fading Away (Dec. 5th)
• Third Runway Noise Complainers Holding Meeting Dec. 19th (Dec. 10th)

The Seattle Times has an article which quotes Bob Sheckler, co-chairman of the Highline Forum, as saying:

“If we don’t like the answers, then we are going to aggressively go after the Port for additional mitigation.”

That full story can be read here.

If you’re an area resident who thinks the noise from the third runway is too loud, our best advice is for you to call the Port of Seattle’s “Noise Hotline,” which operates 24/7, day or night:

206-433-5393

or

1-800-826-1147

Third runway noise complaints from angry residents.

Read today’s story from The Seattle Times here, which includes an interview with neighborhood activist Miriam Bearse.

Here are links to our previous coverage:

• Has The Third Runway Increased Noise In Burien? (Nov. 24th)
• Third Runway Noise Problem Not Fading Away (Dec. 5th)
• Third Runway Noise Complainers Holding Meeting Dec. 19th (Dec. 10th)

If you have thoughts or complaints on the third runway noise, please email us ASAP – we’re working on a major feature on this, including video, and we’re looking for more input.

Several residents in the flight path are considering taking legal action, and are holding a “neighbor’s meeting” on Friday, Dec. 19th at 6pm to discuss options.

Here’s copy from a flier we received today from Miriam Bearse, a neighborhood activist:

To all homeowners/renters living under or near the third runway flight path:

If you have concerns about the flight path, come to a neighbor’s meeting in Burien on December 19th at 6pm to share your experiences with others and discuss potential legal avenues to address the impact of the third runway on our homes and families.

For location and more information, contact Miriam at miriambearse@yahoo.com (206.753.8895)

So, if you live in/near the flight path and are experiencing an unacceptable amount of noise, this is your opportunity to bond and meet with neighbors who feel the same.

We certainly plan on attending, and will provide full coverage as this story develops.

12/11/08 UPDATE: We just received word that Reporters will NOT be allowed at this meeting, due to the presence of lawyers.

Coming soon on this topic (stay tuned by subscribing to our RSS Feed):

• Video interviews with upset residents
• Video interviews with Port of Seattle officials
• Video tour of a noise monitoring station