COMMISSION AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting DATE: December 18, 2024 TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director FROM: Steve Osmek, Wildlife Biologist Krista Sadler, Director, ICT Technology Delivery 8d February 11, 2025 SUBJECT: Avian Threat Assessment System (CIP #C802011) Amount of this request: Total estimated project cost: $4,000,000 $1,970,000 ACTION REQUESTED Request Commission authorization for the Executive Director to 1) proceed with the Avian Threat Assessment System (ATAS) refresh project; 2) execute contract(s) for software, equipment, vendor services and ten years of support and license fees and 3) use Port staff for implementation. The amount requested for capital project cost plus ten-year total contract authorization is $4,000,000. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project will replace the current avian (bird) detection system that has proven to reduce aircraft-wildlife strike risks at SEA. The existing radar-only hardware has been in use since 2008 and last updated in 2019. Given a single bird is an aircraft-collision threat, improved technologies are needed to better detect, visualize and rank the avian threat level on and near the airport. The existing avian radar system scans only a relatively small slice of the sky compared to what is available today in more advanced bird detection and alerting systems. Aircraft wildlife strikes cost airlines at SEA $1.8 million annually from 2019 - 2023. Earlier contracts were paid primarily with grant funding originating from the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center, through the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT), University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In 2019, the POS assumed full responsibility for the contract when all equipment was updated. That 7-year sole-source contract expires at the end of 2026, necessitating a competitive procurement to replace the aging system. The primary goal is to maintain continuity of operations by continually keeping SEA aware of emerging bird threats to aviation safety through vendor transitioning. A contract extension into 2026 will be executed to provide time to achieve a smooth transition to the new vendor. Template revised January 10, 2019. COMMISSION AGENDA - Action Item No. 8d Meeting Date: February 11, 2025 Page 2 of 6 Airport Operations, Aviation Maintenance (AVM), Information & Communications Technology (ICT), and Port Construction Services (PCS) will be involved in this project. We believe we will receive several purchase options from the different competing vendors. The amount requested for project cost plus ten-year total contract authorization is $4,000,000. This amount includes both the implementation costs and recurring costs. How these costs will be apportioned will not be known until after Request for Proposal (RFP) evaluation and selection. The procurement will also set a standard for system expansion if additional features are identified in future projects to increase ATAS functionality. JUSTIFICATION The ATAS project provides the following benefits: (1) (2) Ensures avian detect and alert system continuity of operations is maintained by continually keeping SEA aware of emerging bird threats to aviation safety. Expected system improvements will increase geo-spatial awareness of bird hazards, behavior, and near-miss events. Diversity in Contracting Project staff will work with the Diversity in Contracting Department to determine if a direct women-and-minority-owned business enterprise (WMBE) aspirational goal should be assigned. DETAILS Scope of Work (1) (2) (3) (4) Procure and implement a new ATAS to replace the existing avian radars with an improved avian detect and alert system. Utilize the existing three sites on the airfield to reduce costs and hasten solution delivery. Install, test and tune the system for the most frequent bird hazards and complete system integrations with the Surface Area Management System and ADS-B. Utilize vendor services for system configuration and deployment assistance. Schedule Activity Commission authorization Procurement begins Planning complete In-use date Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). 2025 Quarter 1 2025 Quarter 1 2025 Quarter 3 2026 Quarter 3 COMMISSION AGENDA - Action Item No. 8d Meeting Date: February 11, 2025 Page 3 of 6 Cost Breakdown This Request Total Project Hardware, software and vendor services Port labor Total $3,360,000 $640,000 $4,000,000 $3,360,000 $640,000 $4,000,000 ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED Alternative 1 - Solicit a fully functional ATAS instead of using a phased approach as recommended. Cost Implications: $8,000,000 - $12,000,000 over ten years (or more depending on locations) Pros: (1) (2) (3) Cons: (1) (2) A fully functional ATAS system will provide wildlife type (risk ranking) information and much improved hazard detection capabilities in the air and on the ground for large perching birds and other large animals that are known to be of concern. Multi-user camera technology would be available 24/7/365 to all departments and potentially other Port partners out to distances of more than 8 miles from the airfield. Air traffic control tower integration would be possible with high quality information provided to them and possibly flight crews if hazard certainty were known via cameras or other sensors so a human in the loop could identify hazard type and emerging risk level. Adding target visualization now will delay the procurement and project by at least a year and greatly increase costs. Assessing the best locations and determining network infrastructure for each sensor in this multiple sensor system will require a substantial amount of Port resources and sensor optimization which will vary by vendor and each new location. Once a long-term vendor relationship is established, Airport Operations will have the vendor's expertise to inform further improvements for the ATAS at SEA. This is not the recommended alternative. Alternative 2 - Do not replace the avian radar system. Cost Implications: $0 Pros: (1) Cons: (1) Capital dollars are available for other projects and Airport Operations would save nearly $200,000 annually. Many hazardous bird events will go unnoticed to Airport Operations personnel as was the case before there was an avian radar at SEA. When these events occur responders will not be notified, and threats will not be mitigated as quickly, which can lead to more Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA - Action Item No. 8d Meeting Date: February 11, 2025 (2) (3) (4) Page 4 of 6 wildlife habituating and spending more time on the airfield environment. Consequently, there will be increased safety concerns as it's likely more birds will congregate at SEA, more wildlife strikes will occur, and airlines may have increased costs due to wildlife collision damages. Losing bird detect and alert capabilities at SEA will not be responded to favorably by airlines. Alaska Air Group has been very supportive of the Port of Seattle taking the lead on utilizing avian radar for detecting and dispatching the Qualified Wildlife Patrol to mitigate persistent bird issues on the airfield. They are aware of the Port's tactical and strategic uses of avian radar that dates to 2008. They are encouraged by the POS pushing to improve our bird hazard reduction capabilities. It won't be possible to conduct high quality empirical studies of hazardous wildlife attractants as was done before. One avian radar study resulted in the POS saving millions of dollars by not having to expend money needlessly on constructing more costly underground vaults or floating covers to store stormwater. Airport Operations proved that our existing mitigation measures of nets and ponds liners were highly effective at keeping hazardous waterfowl away. Loss of forensic examinations of strike events and emerging wildlife population trends of hazardous wildlife flying on and near the airfield. This is not the recommended alternative. Alternative 3 - Replace the existing avian radar system with a new system that has expanded altitudinal coverage and can highlight geographic locations of aircraft-bird near-miss events. Cost Implications: $4,000,000 over ten years Pros: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Cons: (1) Ensures continued continuity of operations of bird hazard detection and alerting capabilities will be maintained. Expected sensor improvements will help Qualified Wildlife Patrol respond more efficiently to a greater number of identified threats resulting from more airspace being continually monitored. Expanded airfield coverage will result in a better understanding of bird activity patterns that can be used more predictively for prepositioning personnel to areas experiencing a history of frequent hazardous wildlife activity prior to events. Improved capabilities of advanced sensors are expected to improve forensic investigations of bird-aircraft collisions. Provides a platform for a fully functional ATAS with capabilities of integrating other detection sensors. A protracted approach towards a fully functional ATAS constructed in phases will likely result in a slower integration of advanced target information (video, photos, vocalizations) and therefore bird hazard type into the data stream. Knowing bird type greatly aids in prioritizing a mitigation response as species is highly correlated with aviation safety risk level. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA - Action Item No. 8d Meeting Date: February 11, 2025 Page 5 of 6 This is the recommended alternative. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS There will be different purchasing options that will impact the breakdown of costs between capital and expense. While the total is not expected to exceed $4,000,000, the final cost breakdown will not be known until after the procurement. Cost Estimate/Authorization Summary Capital Expense Total COST ESTIMATE Original estimate $1,970,000 $2,030,000 $4,000,000 AUTHORIZATION Previous authorizations Current request for authorization Total authorizations, including this request Remaining amount to be authorized $0 $1,970,000 $1,970,000 $0 $0 $2,030,000 $2,030,000 $0 $0 $4,000,000 $4,000,000 $0 Annual Budget Status and Source of Funds The Avian Threat Assessment System (C802011) was not included in the 2025-2029 capital budget and plan of finance. The capital budget of $1,970,000 was transferred from Aeronautical Reserve (C800753) resulting in no net change to the Airport capital budget. The annual operating expense will be included in the department's annual budget. The funding source is Airport Development Fund (ADF). Financial Analysis and Summary Project cost for analysis Business Unit (BU) Effect on business performance (NOI after depreciation) IRR/NPV (if relevant) CPE Impact $4,000,000 Airfield Movement Area NOI after depreciation will increase due to inclusion of capital (and operating) costs in airline rate base. N/A $0.02 in 2027 Future Revenues and Expenses (Total cost of ownership) Initial training, and annual maintenance and support costs are currently estimated at $2,030,000 for the ten-year term and will be budgeted in Airport Operations operation expense budget. If leasing options are offered through the procurement process and they are best value for the Port, this cost could be higher but would be offset with lower capital costs. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA - Action Item No. 8d Meeting Date: February 11, 2025 Page 6 of 6 ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST (1) 2018 CPO-5 Policy waiver for leasing avian radar and support services from Accipiter Radar Technologies Incorporated PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS None Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).