Noise remedies for Boeing Field move ahead

Action on noise remedies for Boeing Field (King County International Airport) is moving ahead, with review by the King County Council planned for September. Council approval is a necessary step to securing approval and funding from the Federal Aviation Administration.

A comprehensive set of noise-reduction proposals came out of the recent Part 150 study. These recommendations were unanimously approved by the advisory committee, which included representatives from the Airport itself, aviation-related tenants, employees, representatives from near-by communities, and other stakeholders. The recommendations are fully supported by Airport management.
Seattle Council on Airport Affairs, which was not represented on the committee, has prepared its own analysis the proposals, which may be found on the SCAA website (www.airportnoise.org). SCAA fully supports the proposals as well (while wishing that they could have gone farther).
In June, an SCAA delegation presented the analysis to King County staff -- Harold Taniguchi, new Director of the county's Department of Transportation (the department under which the airport falls); Michael Colmant, assistant manager of the Airport (who is the acting manager); and others. SCAA urged County Executive to support all the recommendations, and to move them forward before Labor Day.
Major action proposals include home insulation, school insulation (including Cleveland High School and other schools in Seattle - a first) , more study (what else?) of tweaks in flight corridors, and a full-dress Part 161 study for more comprehensive changes in flight procedures & a night-time curfew for State II jets under 75,000 pounds.
Particularly welcome to SCAA was the preparation of maps that used the combined contours of KCIA and Sea-Tac for determining noise mitigation. This sort of mapping has never been done previously in any Part 150 study, and community representatives have been very pleased to see maps that actually show total airport noise impact. Credit is due for this to the study consultant, Bernard Dunkelberg Co. It remains to be seen whether FAA will accept this departure from their norm.

Other Boeing Field News

Boeing Field is long overdue for a Master Plan Update. SCAA was skeptical about the process of deciding on a future noise program on the basis of a Master Plan Update that has not been approved, nor presented to Council, nor published in final or draft form. With no draft, there is no environmental impact statement.
The delegation that called on Mr. Tanaguchi received no solid commitments about the Master Plan Update - Mr Taniguchi is new to Airport concerns, & left the impression that he wants to take an active part in determining future directions for Boeing Field. The former Airport Manager, Cynthia Stewart, left amid public-relations talk from the County about new directions for Boeing Field. So, it may be that after a new manager is found, the Airport will be told from the Department level, or even Executive Sims' level, to start over again, with a new set of goals. Or maybe not!