Template revised April 12, 2018.

COMMISSION

AGENDA MEMORANDUM

Item No.

11a

BRIEFING ITEM

Date of Meeting

May 14, 2024

DATE: April 22, 2024

TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director

FROM: Lance Lyttle, Managing Director, Aviation Division

Marco Milanese, Senior Community Engagement Manager, External Relations

Eric Schinfeld, Senior Federal and International Government Relations Manager,

External Relations

SUBJECT: SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) 2023 Annual Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2018, the Port of Seattle launched the SEA Stakeholder Advisory Round Table (StART) in

partnership with the Highline Forum-member cities and other representational entities to

enhance cooperation and tackle the issues of most relevance to Seattle-Tacoma International

Airport’s (SEA’s) neighboring cities.

StART provides the Port of Seattle with a dedicated forum intended specifically for discussing and

tackling airport and aviation industry concerns from Highline Forum-member cities and their

residents. With the Port, the FAA, the primary air carriers, and the airport’s neighboring cities all

represented around the table, StART brings together all the relevant parties with a common

purpose to share information, collaborate and achieve results.

StART’s major accomplishments are primarily the result of efforts initiated by its two working

groups: the Aviation Noise Working Group and the Federal Policy Working Group.

StART OVERVIEW

Cognizant of SEA Airport’s traffic and location within a dense residential and commercial area in

the Puget Sound, the Port of Seattle is committed to building open relationships with the

community and local cities that foster trust, accountability, and collaboration. An important

component of that commitment was the creation of StART in early 2018.

The Port of Seattle developed StART to enhance cooperation between the Port and the Highline

Forum-member cities of SeaTac, Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, Tukwila, and Federal

Way. This voluntary, non-governing, regional roundtable is convened by the Aviation Managing

Director and was developed in partnership with the leadership from the Highline Forum-member

cities and other representational entities.

StART provides all parties with the opportunity to:

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• Support meaningful and collaborative public dialogue and engagement on airport-related

issues;

• Provide an opportunity for the Highline Forum-member cities to inform airport-related

decision-making;

• Raise public knowledge about the airport; and

• Most significantly, focus on practical solutions to address community concerns about

aircraft operations and the airport.

Each of the neighboring cities designates three members to serve on StART, two community

representatives and a city employee, who are joined by representatives from Alaska Airlines and

Delta Air Lines, an air cargo representative and Port staff. The Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) provides agency expertise.

Meetings, in 2023, were facilitated by Brian Scott and Andres Mantilla from Uncommon Bridges

with assistance from Dori Krupanics and Cheryl Swab.

For the last several years, StART has staffed two working groups to empower StART’s members

to work on identified priorities between StART meetings: the Aviation Noise (AN) Working Group

and the Federal Policy (FP) Working Group.

StART MEMBERSHIP

The size and extent of StART’s membership is a decision solely made by StART’s Steering

Committee, which was established to provide support, guidance and strategic direction for

StART. StART’s Steering Committee has given consideration to requests by other communities

to join StART and has decided to retain the current size of the membership due to the shared

belief that the experience of the close-in Highline Forum-member cities is different and more

multi-faceted than the experience of further out communities.

Changes to StART’s membership or to any of StART’s Operating Procedures cannot be made

solely by the Port of Seattle. Consensus-based guidance is what shapes all decisions taken by

StART’s Steering Committee, StART’s working groups, and StART itself.

AVIATION NOISE WORKING GROUP

Since its inception, StART’s AN Working Group, with a mission to prioritize and explore potential

near-term actions to reduce and prevent aviation noise, has made its focus its Aviation Near-

term Noise Action Agenda which includes several programs and efforts, some already

implemented and others in development, intended to provide aviation noise relief to the Highline

Forum-member cities.

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The AN Working Group is comprised of a subset of StART members, Port staff and additional staff

from the Highline Forum-member cities and other representational entities along with a noise

consultant to provide expert advice.

In 2023, the AN Working Group began to make a pivot primarily due to the extensive groundwork

already covered during the Aviation Near-term Noise Action Agenda’s development in previous

years. Work with the agenda continued but with more of a focus on results monitoring,

considering refinements, if needed, and promoting the agenda’s outcomes both with internal

and external audiences.

The AN Working Group also discussed several noise-related topics at meetings that Port staff

believed would expand the group’s overall understanding of the noise environment or StART

members expressed interest in exploring more. These included a legal dive into avigation

easements, ongoing noise insulation efforts, air cargo trends at SEA, the utilization of optimized

profile descents at SEA and when and why aircraft go-arounds occur.

Additionally, the AN Working Group began to make its transition to serving as the SEA Part 150

Noise and Land Use Compatibility Study’s Technical Review Committee. A Part 150 Study is

required by the FAA to update airport noise programs and establish eligibility for FAA grant funds.

SEA’s last Part 150 Study was completed and approved by the FAA in 2014. Airports typically

stand up a Technical Review Committee during a Part 150 Study and task it with providing

technical input and guidance throughout the life of the study.

Aviation Near-term Noise Action Agenda – 2023 Highlights

In 2023, the AN Working Group continued its work with monitoring the agenda’s programs and

efforts and developing and finalizing new programs and efforts to include within the agenda.

Highlights in 2023 include:

(1) Encouraging Continuous Taxi to Takeoffs – Recommended in StART’s Ground

Noise Study, continuous taxi to takeoffs, also known as rolling takeoffs, have less of a noise

footprint than traditional takeoffs that require aircraft to power up after coming to a complete

stop. In coordination with the FAA, the air carriers and the members of the AN Working Group,

new, voluntary SEA language promoting continuous taxi to takeoffs was enacted mid-2023 and

followed by a summer air carrier awareness campaign to encourage greater use by pilots.

(2) Promoting Single-engine Taxiing – Also recommended in StART’s Ground Noise

Study, single-engine taxiing is an established practice with many air carriers and though it has a

modest effect on reducing noise, it does have a measurable effect on reducing aircraft emissions.

Language promoting its use is in development and when complete, will be shared with the AN

Working Group for consideration.

Aviation Near-term Noise Action Agenda – Earlier Achievements

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(1) Late Night Noise Limitation Program – The Program is a voluntary effort to reduce

late night (12:00 AM to 5:00 AM) noise by incentivizing air carriers to fly at less noise sensitive

hours or transition to quieter aircraft. The Program commenced in July 2019 with regular

reporting each quarter to StART, air carriers and other external audiences. Four noise monitors

track all late night operations between the hours of 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM and capture any

takeoffs or landings above established noise thresholds. In early 2021, the program achieved its

first success with EVA Air’s switch to the quieter 787 during the late night hours. Previously, EVA

Airways flew the 777 and was routinely the air carrier that topped the list of late night air carriers

with the most noise exceedances. In 2023, FedEx Express, which had been the late night air

carrier with the most noise exceedances post-EVA Airways, began incorporating into their fleet

the quieter 767 in place of the older and noisier MD-11. FedEx Express’ decision quickly

demonstrated success with the Program’s 2023 second quarter results confirming that FedEx was

no longer the air carrier with the most noise exceedances during the late night hours. Leadership

from the Port and the Highline-member cities sent a congratulatory letter to FedEx Express

encouraging the carrier to continue forward with their fleet renewal efforts.

(2) Runway Use Plan – The Informal Runway Use Plan, implemented in late 2019,

minimizes use of the Third Runway during the late-night hours (12:00 AM to 5:00 AM). Late night

operations on the Third Runway have dropped dramatically since implementation of the Runway

Use Plan from a typical average of 12 to 13 operations during the late night hours pre-Runway

Use Plan to a 2023 average of less than two operations per night post-Runway Use Plan

implementation. And on 240 of the late nights in 2023, there were zero operations on the Third

Runway.

(3) Glide Slope Adjustment – The goal is to raise Runway 34R’s glideslope to

lessen aircraft approach noise. Implementation is contingent on the Sustainable Airport Master

Plan’s (SAMP) finalization and FAA approval.

(4) Noise Comment Reporting – The Port provides up-to-date, accessible information

on noise complaints and comments submitted by the public. Online monthly reporting began

with June 2020 with updates provided at all AN Working Group meetings.

(5) Discouraging Reverse Thrust – Identified as a noise source in the Ground Noise

Study, reverse thrust is used by pilots to deaccelerate aircraft upon landing. In coordination with

the FAA, the air carriers and the members of the AN Working Group, updated language

discouraging the use of reverse thrust at SEA at all times of the day and beyond what is necessary

was implemented in early 2023 and followed by a summer air carrier awareness campaign.

FEDERAL POLICY WORKING GROUP

Because the Port of Seattle is extremely limited in its authority to address some of the core

concerns that local residents have expressed about aviation activities, StART formed the FP

Working Group as a way to identify areas of consensus and collaboration between the Port and

the Highline Forum-member cities on new tools, new authorities, new resources, new

approaches and new engagement from the federal government, and to engage Members of

Congress in pushing for these shared priorities. The FP Working Group has developed and

continues to implement a shared Port-Cities Federal Policy Priorities agenda.

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The FP Working Group is comprised of a subset of StART members, Port staff, and additional staff

from the Highline Forum-member cities along with US Congressional staff from offices that

represent the Highline Forum-member cities.

Last year, the FP Working Group prioritized advocacy surrounding the FAA Reauthorization Act

as well as several agency rulemakings related to aircraft emissions standards and FAA noise

policies.

In particular, the Port and the airport cities successfully identified seven shared federal policy

priorities for proposed inclusion in the FAA Reauthorization Act:

1) Reducing the impact of overflight noise on near-airport communities by:

a. Advocating for US Senator Murray’s and US Representative Smith’s legislation to allow

for homes located within the airport’s current FAA-recognized noise contour that

meet broader criteria for “failed” insulation to be eligible for secondary investments

– particularly those homes where the warranty has expired, or the product

manufacturer is out-of-business and therefore unavailable to honor warranties.

b. Advocating for US Representative Smith’s Aviation Noise and Emissions Mitigation

Act, which would empower the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to play a

productive role in addressing community concerns about aircraft noise and emissions.

This legislation would support the collection of data and then fund initiatives to

mitigate aircraft noise and emissions. These new tools could make a significant

difference, particularly in terms of environmental justice.

c. Instituting a deadline for action and a stakeholder advisory committee on the FAA

Noise Policy Review (NPR). Without a clear timeline and deadline for whether and

how the FAA may act on the results of the NPR, airports and communities are stuck in

a frustrating limbo of uncertainty. The FP Working Group also believes that the FAA

could use a wider range of input on this challenging and complicated topic.

2) Reducing aircraft emissions through:

a. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) incentives and investments including those contained

in the Inflation Reduction Act. The FP Working Group urges Congress to direct the FAA

to do everything possible to successfully implement these policies in ways that move

the United States toward the Biden-Harris’ Administration’s SAF Grand Challenge goal

of producing at least three billion gallons per year of SAF by 2030. Similarly, the FP

Working Group supports additional, complementary programs, policies, and

investments that the FAA can undertake to facilitate progress – including but not

limited to collaboration with other federal agencies such as the US Departments of

Energy, Agriculture and Defense.

b. Continuing the Environmental Mitigation Pilot Program contained in Section 190 of

the 2018 FAA Reauthorization. The FP Working Group supports the authorization of

this program at six million dollars per year, because of its potential to support

innovative technology solutions to reduce aircraft noise and emissions.

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c. Advocating for US Representative Smith’s Protecting Airport Communities from

Particle Emissions Act which would bring more federal attention and engagement on

the sources, characteristics, dispersion, and potential health effects of ultrafine

particulates from aircraft engines.

3) Addressing regional airport capacity needs by ensuring FAA support for new regional airport

capacity. In particular, the FP Working Group would like to see policy language in the FAA

Reauthorization legislation that 1) clarifies the process for FAA regulatory review and agency

collaboration with cities and states in high air travel demand regions looking to invest in new

airport capacity; and 2) provides additional FAA guidance on necessary steps to implement

any final decisions from the State of Washington’s Commercial Aviation Working Group.

A key part of the advocacy for the federal policy priorities was the first ever StART DC Fly-in,

which brought two dozen local elected officials and staff from the airport communities and the

Port to Washington, DC to meet with Congress and the FAA. Thanks in large part to those efforts,

four of the priorities were included in the House and/or Senate versions of the FAA

Reauthorization Act as of March 2024, with a final bill expected to be passed through Congress

by May 10: items 1a, 1c, 2c, and 3 above.

In addition, the Federal Policy Working Group submitted several joint comment letters on agency

rulemakings, including a highly detailed response to the FAA’s Noise Policy Review.