Item No. 7c_supp Meeting Date: February 26, 2019 Scoping Report Briefing: SAMP Near-Term Projects Environmental Review February 26, 2019 1 Scoping for SAMP Near-Term Projects Scoping is an early and open process for determining the scope of issues that will be addressed in the environmental review document, soliciting input regarding the SAMP Near-Term Projects, and for identifying concerns regarding the potential environmental effects of those projects The Scoping report is not intended to provide responses to each individual comment. It is intended to identify topics and themes that could inform the environmental review Scoping is a requirement of a SEPA EIS 2 Scoping and Report Overview • Duration: 60 days (7/30-9/28/18; SEPA requirement is 21 days) • Outcome: Scoping report (released 2/12/19) • All comments categorized and grouped • Scoping report - - - - Overview of process Participation Comments Available on Port and project website FAA (NEPA) and the Port of Seattle (SEPA) reviewed major topics and common themes together 3 Scoping Participation • • • • • • Public agency meeting: Public open houses: Online open house*: Agency commentors: Individual commentors: Outreach - Post cards* (14,000) - Airmail (95,000) - Media Advisories 7 agencies attended 300+ attendees ~3,500 site visits ~10 ~750 - Local Online Media - Local Newspaper - Emails - Social Media - Community Events *Five languages Extensive participation in robust scoping process 4 Environmental Review Timing NEPA EA Final Document & Decision SEPA EIS Draft Document (Early Spring 2020) SEPA EIS Final NEPA EA Draft Document Document & Decision (Late Fall 2019) (Summer 2020) Scoping Environmental Analysis NEPA EA Agency & Public Review (Early 2020) SEPA EIS Agency & Public Review (Spring 2020) Port's draft SEPA document will follow the FAA's NEPA decision 5 NEPA Resource Categories Air Quality Biological Resources Climate Coastal Resources Department of Transportation (DOT) Section 4(f) Farmlands Hazardous Materials, Solid Waste, and Pollution Prevention • Land Use • • • • • • • • Historical, Architectural, Archeological, and Cultural Resources • Natural Resources and Energy Supply • Noise and Noise-Compatible Land Use • Socioeconomics, Environmental Justice, and Children's Environmental Health and Safety Risks • Visual Effects • Water Resources - Wetlands, floodplains, surface waters, groundwater, wild and scenic rivers FAA is lead agency for NEPA and the document will cover an extensive set of resource categories 6 SEPA Elements of the Environment • Earth - Geology soils, topography, Unique physical features, Erosion/enlargement of land area • Air - Air quality, odor, climate • Water - Surface water movement/quantity/quality, runoff/absorption, floods, groundwater movement/quantity/quality, public water supplies • Plants and animals - Habitat for and numbers or diversity of species of plants, fish, or other wildlife, unique species, fish or wildlife migration routes • Energy and natural resources - Amount required/rate of use/efficiency, source/availability, nonrenewable resources, conservation and renewable resources, scenic resources • Environmental health - Noise, risk of explosion, releases or potential releases to the environment affecting public health, such as toxic or hazardous materials • Land and shoreline use - Relationship to existing land use plans and to estimated population, housing, light and glare, aesthetics, recreation, historic and cultural preservation, agricultural crops • Transportation - Transportation systems, vehicular traffic, waterborne, rail, and air traffic, parking, movement/circulation of people or goods, traffic hazards • Public services and utilities - Fire, police, schools, parks or other recreational facilities, maintenance, communications, water/stormwater • Sewer/solid waste Port is the lead agency for the SEPA and the document will cover an extensive set of environmental elements 7 Common Theme: Aviation Demand Forecast Representative Comments Recent demand has outpaced approved SAMP forecast Assess impacts that exceed SAMP forecasts, in case forecast is low Next Steps The Port and the FAA will review the approved SAMP forecast and determine if it needs to be supplemented or updated to better reflect current and anticipated future conditions Demand at Sea-Tac Airport has mirrored the economic growth of the region 8 Common Theme: Alternatives in the Environmental Review Representative Comments Use other existing airports or a new regional airport Include a scaled-back or "constrained" plan Include SAMP Long-Term Vision (LTV) Next Steps Port and FAA will consider SAMP planning and Scoping comments regarding alternatives Alternatives that are "reasonable" and meet "purpose and need" will be analyzed Environmental review may identify mitigation that would constitute an alternative LTV will be discussed within the cumulative impacts analysis SAMP Near-Term Projects environmental review will include an alternatives analysis 9 Common Theme: Human Health Impacts Representative Comments Conduct human health study Next Steps Port will hire an expert to understand how human health impacts could be incorporated into SEPA Human health will be a component of the SAMP Near-Term Projects environmental review 10 Common Theme: Aircraft Noise Representative Comments Use lower threshold than 65 DNL Use noise metrics other than the FAA's required Day-Night Level (DNL) Include impacts of NextGen technology and other changes to the airspace Request for additional noise measurements and monitoring Next Steps Analysis will use FAA-established significance thresholds, methodologies, and metrics Monitoring will be used to validate inputs to the noise modeling for the environmental analysis SAMP Near-Term Projects environmental review will include an analysis of noise impacts 11 Common Theme: Air Quality and Climate Representative Comments Quantify and mitigate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions Request for air quality monitoring Conduct analysis of ultrafine particulates (UFP) Next Steps Analysis will include quantitative GHG analysis Analysis of air pollutant emissions will follow established standards, i.e. Clean Air Act Port will hire an expert to understand how UFPs could be incorporated into SEPA analysis SAMP Near-Term Projects environmental review will include an air quality, climate, and GHG assessment 12 Common Themes: Environmental Review Process Representative Comments Assess impacts of recent (past) growth, using 2012 as base year Delay NEPA and SEPA review until other studies have been completed (ex. UFP & PSRC) Include an analysis on individuals' quality of life Next Steps Document will identify existing conditions and past growth as part of cumulative impacts Document will identify where information is not available or where uncertainty exists (SEPA) Quality of life will be considered as it pertains to elements within SEPA Other Port efforts are addressing non-SAMP comments received 13 Next Steps • Release Scoping Report (released 2/12/19) • Refine NEPA EA and SEPA EIS scope to reflect comments received • Conduct environmental analysis (through Fall 2019) • Publish draft NEPA EA document for public review and comment (Late Fall 2019) • Draft SEPA EIS document will follow the FAA's NEPA decision 14