PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA  STAFF BRIEFING 
Item No.        7a 
Date of Meeting    February 1, 2011 

DATE:    January 24, 2011 
TO:     Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Elizabeth Leavitt, Director, Aviation Planning & Environmental Programs 
Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Director, Seaport Planning & Environmental 
Programs 
Michael Lufkin, Senior Environmental Program Manager 

SUBJECT:  Proposed Revisions to the Port's Policies Related to the State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) 
SYNOPSIS: 
This briefing will present proposed revisions to the Port's existing State Environmental
Policy Act (SEPA) Procedures and summarize a new proposed Port SEPA Policy
addressing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. These "agency SEPA
procedures" must be formally designated by rule, ordinance or resolution. 
Port staff believe that the Port's current SEPA Procedures, which are now covered in
three separate resolutions, should be compiled and updated into a single Port SEPA
resolution that conforms with changes that have been made to Washington's SEPA laws
and rules and reflects the current organizational structure of the Port. Port staff also
believe that the Port should clarify in a resolution how climate considerations should be
incorporated into its SEPA review when it is acting as a "lead agency." 
After this briefing, the Port will put the two proposed resolutions out for a 30-day public
comment period. On March 22, 2011, staff plan to return to the Commission for First
Reading of the proposed resolutions, which would include a discussion of the comments
received from the public and any proposed changes to the resolutions. Second Reading
and Final Passage of the resolutions is anticipated at the April 12, 2011 meeting.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
January 24, 2011 
Page 2 of 4 
BACKGROUND: 
The purpose of this staff briefing is to present: (1) proposed revisions to existing Port
SEPA Procedures, and (2) a proposed new Port SEPA Policy addressing the assessment
of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change under SEPA.
The State Environmental Policy Act or SEPA, Chapter 43.21C RCW, was enacted in
1971 to "promote the policy of fully informed decision making by government bodies
when undertaking major actions significantly affecting the quality of the environment." 
SEPA requires public agencies to: (1) consider the environmental consequences of their
proposed actions; (2) identify and evaluate probable impacts, alternatives and mitigation
measures; and (3) encourage public involvement in agency decision making. Local 
government agencies like the Port must adopt policies and procedures for implementing
SEPA. These "agency SEPA procedures" must be formally designated by rule,
ordinance, or resolution. 
Proposed Revisions to Existing Port SEPA Procedures 
The Commission has previously adopted three resolutions implementing SEPA: 
Resolution No. 3028 (adopted December 1987), Resolution No. 3211(adopted February
1996), and Resolution No. 3539 (adopted May 2005). Collectively, these three
resolutions identify the procedures used by the Port for implementing SEPA, including,
the identity of the responsible official, the method(s) for public notice, the procedures for
administrative appeals, if any, and other information about the Port's review procedures.
From time to time it becomes necessary to update, amend and revise SEPA policies and
procedures due to changes in law and/or operations of the Port and in order to improve
the effectiveness of such policies and procedures. Some of the proposed revisions to the
existing Port SEPA Procedures include: 
Compilation of the procedures into a single Port SEPA resolution; 
Conformity with changes that have been made to state SEPA laws and rules; 
Revisions that reflect the current organizational structure of the Port; 
Addition of a Table of Contents; and 
General cleanup and edits that aim to make the document easier to use and read.
Proposed SEPA Climate Change Policy 
SEPA was adopted to ensure that environmental values are considered during decisionmaking
by state and local agencies. Until relatively recently, however, climate change
and greenhouse gas pollutants have been given relatively little or no consideration in
environmental review documents. This is changing rapidly, however. Many state and
local governments, both here in Washington state and around the country, are beginning
to develop policies, regulations, and guidance on how, where, and when to address

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
January 24, 2011 
Page 3 of 4 
climate change in their environmental review processes. Some are doing so because their
failure to address climate change was challenged in court as contrary to SEPA-like
statutes. Others are simply recognizing the importance and value of incorporating
climate change considerations into governmental decision-making, resource and
development planning, and permitting and approval.
To date, the Port has not adopted any policies related to the assessment of greenhouse gas
emissions and climate change under SEPA. Port environmental staff has, over the past
several years, begun including estimates of GHG emissions for certain projects as part of
the environmental review process. Staff believes it is in the best interest of the Port to act
now to clarify how climate considerations should be incorporated into its SEPA review
when it is acting as a "lead agency". Towards that end, the proposed SEPA Climate
Change Policy addresses the following:
Clarifying that the Port will consider greenhouse gas emissions and the effect of
changes in climate on proposed actions as a mandatory component of SEPA
environmental review; 
Requiring the identification and calculation of greenhouse gas emissions
associated with a project proposal, within reasonable spatial and temporal
boundaries, as part of SEPA environmental review; 
Encouraging the identification of mitigation measures that the Port may 
voluntarily incorporate to reduce a project's greenhouse gas emissions below a
level of significance or to reduce the Port's greenhouse gas emission baseline; 
Acknowledging that when making the "threshold determination" under SEPA
there is no uniform standard for determining the "significance" of a project's
greenhouse gas emissions impacts; 
Acknowledging that any decision by the Port as to whether there is an adverse
environmental impact from a proposal will be made on a case-by-case basis;
Identifying factors that may be considered by the Port when determining whether
a project's greenhouse gas emission constitute a "significant" impact; 
Considering the effects of climate change on projects that are designed for long-
term utility and located in areas that are considered vulnerable to specific effects
of climate change (such as increasing sea level or ecological change) within the
project's timeframe.
NEXT STEPS: 
Today's briefing is intended to provide the Commission with some background information
and an overview of Staff's proposed changes to Port SEPA policies and procedures. The
next step is to put the proposed resolutions out for a 30-day public comment period. The
public comment period will begin in the next several days and will include notice in regional
newspapers, distribution to individuals and organizations on the Port SEPA mailing list, and
posting on the Port's external website. On March 22, 2011, staff plans to return to the
Commission for First Reading of the proposed resolutions and to discuss comments received

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
January 24, 2011 
Page 4 of 4 
from the public and any proposed changes to the resolutions. Second Reading and Final
Passage of the resolutions will then be requested at the April 12, 2011 Commission meeting. 
OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BRIEFING: 
PowerPoint presentation 
Draft of Proposed Resolution Revising Existing Port SEPA Procedures 
Draft of Proposed Resolution of New SEPA Climate Change Policy 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS: 
None