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January 27, 2020
Port of  cnllle
2711 Alaskan Way
ealllc, WA 98121
vine-mail
Dear Port of SeaIlle Commissioners,
I submit these comments on behalf of 350 Seallle in response to agenda item 9b, the
sustainable airport master plan near-term projects and environmental review briefing.
First, we ask that, if possible, you request the FAA to complete a full EIS environmental
review of near-term projects and modify the timeline to facilitate such review. In both
reviews, greenhouse gas emission reductions that have been acknowledged as necessary
by both the City and County must be treated as non-negotiable constraints. Second, no
projects to accommodate additional flights should be undertaken until the full
environmental reviews have been completed. Third, the Port should stop perpetuating the
myth that airport expansion benefits neighboring communities.
Founded in 2013, 350 Seattle is a grassroots group working for climate justice by
organizing people to make deep system change: resisting fossil fuels; building
momentum forhealthy  alternatives; and fostering resilient, just, and welcoming
communities. We have a mailing list of over 13,000 people, the great majority of whom
are in the Seattle metropolitan area. We have been a key leader in successful fights like
the #ShellNo campaign against Arctic drilling, the campaign to defeat the (proposed)
world's largest oil-by-rail terminal in Vancouver, and the campaign against the Anacortes
Shell oil-by-rail spur. With Got Green, we are co-leading the Seattle for a Green New
Deal campaign.
The forecast update presented today is deeply troubling. It estimates that, by 2022, we
will see a 25% increase in aviation activity above 2017 levels. As of 2017, yearly
emissions from Sea-Tac and King County International Airport, based on total fuel used,
1 Moreover, the
totaled 7,168,000 MgC02e, or nearly a quarter of the county's emissions.
climate warming impact ofaviation emissions is double to quadruple that ofthe
measured carbon dioxide, making them vastly more harmful than other types of
'"GHG Emissions in King County - a 2017 update," available at
https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/cl imate/documents/201907-KingCounty-GHG-Emissions-AnaIys is.pdf.
The vast majority of these emissions were from Sea-Tac.

                                  . .
l!l11l 'i',  I011', .)
1 o time \\hen ,,.c mu<,t be doing everything ,,.e con to c.ut e:mi s,011  h} 4511. fn1m 2010
1
lc,el" in the next ten ycars, "e must not   and cannot   facilitate  uch mcrea c  We ere
olrcody focing disarpcnring glaciers, los<, ofsno\\pack, ocean 11c1d1ficot1on. ,,.,,ldfire
droughts, mass specie� extinction, ond extreme \,\,Cother, all cau ed b)' grccnhou\c g
emi,l)ions, including increasingly from ovintion.4  Indeed. the Alliance of\ orld
'cicnti!>ts recently offered another frightening ,,oming ofthe di a ter to come 1f \\c
continue with businesl) Oll usual, pointing 10 the increo ing amount ofa, intion a  "o
troubling sign."5
Given the stakes, we cannot rca onably, logically, or ethically, lalk nboul
unconstrained aviation cxpnnsion. According!). greenhou c ga cmi sion reduction
that have been acknowledged a  necessary by both the  it) and  ounl) mu t ocl o
non-negotiable constraints on grO\ th, and no projects  hould be planned, imestcd in. or
undertaken until complete environmental review  of each are completed.
Finally, the Port should not point to economic benefits 10 neighboring communities as a
justification for this devastating expansion. A recent study oul of the  nivcrsity of
Illinois found that any economic activity spurred by SeaTac opcralions, assuming
6 This means that the
there is any, docs not occur in neighboring communitics.
communities being bombarded by air and noise pollution are not experiencing the
purported benefits ofairport operations. Moreover "[d]ecades ofstudies on airport noi e
have consistently found a negative effect on property values," and that local
municipalities sufTer economic losses in terms oflower property tax revenue with
expanded airport activity.8 This is not news 10 the neighboring communities, who
uniformly voiced opposition to aviation expansion at a  ovember public meeting held by
the Washington State Department ofCommerce. As one resident said "[t]he Port has
devastated my property. I can't afford to sell to get away from the noise."7 If eaTac is
2U.N. International Panel on Climate Change, "Aviation and the Global Atmosphere," available at
http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcdaviation/index.htm. This is due, in part, to non-carbon emissions, soot
(contrails), and other factors, which magnify the warming effect beyond just the effect of carbon emissions.
And since these emissions and soot are occurring direclly into the upper atmosphere, the climate effect is
sti II greater.
>u.N. International Panel on Climate Change, "Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on
Global Wanning of I .5°C," available at
https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-fo  r-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of- I
-Sc-approved-by-governments/.
•u.s. Global Change Research Project, "Fourth National Climate Assessment," available at
https://nca20 I8.globalchange.gov/chapter/24/.
'World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency, al'ailable at
ht1ps://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/ I 0.1093/biosci/biz088/56 I 0806.
6Julie Cidell, "The role of major infrastructure in subregional economic development: An empirical study
of airports and cities," available al
https://experts.i11inois.edu/en/pub I ications/the-roIc-of.major-infrastructurc-in-subregiona1-economic-dcvelo
pm.
7https://www.commerce.wa.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2019/ I I/gms-sts-nov-wksp-summary.pdf.
                              10 ever be referred 10 as an economic engine-and even that must be questioned-it must
be made clear that "the machine that is being driven [by that engine] is located
somewhere else in the rcgion."10
We arc facing a climate crisis that will have widespread detrimental impacts on our
region. Aviation emissions are a ,substantial and growing part ofemissions in the Pacific
Northwest. To avoid environmental catastrophe, all emissions, including those from
aviation, must be reduced. Now is not the time to expend public resources to
accommodate increased aviation emissions.
We look forward to continued involvement in the airport master plan review process.

Sincerely,
Sarah Shifley
350 Seattle Aviation Team

cc (e-mail):   Steve Rybolt, Port of Seattle Senior Environmental Program Manager
Jill Nogi, Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Review Manager
Maria Batayola, El Centro de la Raza
Sheila Brush, Quiet Skies Puget Sound
Larry Cripe, Quiet Skies Coalition