[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 1994)]
[Notices]
[Page 645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-137]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 5, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Determination of Significance and Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and To Conduct Scoping for Seattle-
Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, WA
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Northwest Mountain Region of the Federal Aviation
Administration (``FAA'') and the Port of Seattle (``Port'') announce
that the FAA and the Port, acting as joint lead agencies, intend to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposal by the
Port to develop a new parallel runway and other airport facility
improvements to be examined in an update to the Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport) Master Plan. To ensure that all
significant issues related to the proposed action are identified,
scoping comments are requested.
DATES AND ADDRESSES FOR COMMENTS: To facilitate the receipt of written
comments, two scoping meetings will be conducted. The first meeting, in
a workshop format, will be conducted for the public on February 9,
1994. A meeting for Federal, state and local agencies will be conducted
on February 10, 1994. Send comments to, or seek additional information
from the responsible Federal official: Mr. Dennis Ossenkop, Airports
Division, Federal Aviation Administration, 1601 Lind Avenue SW., suite
540, Renton, Washington 98055-4056. To be considered, written comments
must be received on or before February 25, 1994.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recent planning studies have indicated both
an existing and long-term need for additional airfield capacity at Sea-
Tac Airport. Under current demand levels, the Airport experiences
reduced operating capability and delay during bad weather conditions
due to the close-spacing of the existing parallel runways. During busy
hours, arrival demand exceeds the bad weather arrival capacity and
aircraft and passenger delays result. In addition to increasing the
severity of delays caused by bad weather, continued growth in aircraft
operational demand is projected to exceed Sea-Tac's annual airfield
capacity within the next ten years. The objective of the Master Plan
Update, and accompanying EIS, is to address the bad weather capacity
problem and to meet long-term regional air travel needs spurred by a
growing regional economy.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the
Master Plan Update, which is expected to include numerous projects
including, but not be limited to: A new parallel runway and
improvements to the passenger terminal, ground access system, and other
support facilities. The range of new parallel runway options that may
be considered in the EIS are anticipated to be in the immediate
vicinity of the existing airfield at Sea-Tac Airport. Based on the
Master Plan Update, other airport developments that may be considered
in the EIS would be located on or in the immediate vicinity of the
existing Sea-Tac Airport property. Mitigation measures will be
proposed, as necessary, for the significant adverse impacts created by
development. Major actions or concepts to be discussed in the draft EIS
include the no action alternative and other reasonable alternatives
meeting the purpose and need. Such alternatives are expected to include
several options related to runway lengths, separations and threshold
stagger.
The FAA and Port of Seattle have determined that the new parallel
runway is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the
environment. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required under
the National Environmental Policy Act and the Washington State
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), RCW 43.21C.030(2)(c) and will be
prepared. The FAA and Port of Seattle have identified the following key
areas for discussion in the EIS including, but not limited to:
Alternatives, noise and land use, social and socio-economic impacts,
human health, water resources, biotic communities, construction, earth,
transportation and air quality.
Scoping is the initial step in the preparation of the EIS. The
scoping process is ``an early and open process for determining the
scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the significant
issues related to the proposed action.'' Agencies, affected tribes, and
members of the public are invited to comment on the scope of the EIS.
You may comment on alternatives, mitigation measures, probable
significant adverse impacts, and licenses or other approvals that may
be required. Comments and suggestions are invited from Federal, State
and local agencies, and other interested parties and individuals to
ensure that the full range of issues related to a Master Plan Update
EIS are addressed and all significant issues identified.
To facilitate the receipt of comments, two scoping meetings will be
conducted. A public workshop will be conducted to receive written
comments on February 9, 1994 from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Tyee Senior
High School, 4424 South 188th Street, City of SeaTac. The second
meeting will be held on February 10, 1994 between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
for Federal, state and local agencies in the Sea-Tac Auditorium,
Mezzanine Level Main Terminal Building, Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport.
Issued in Renton, Washington on December 20, 1993.
Edward G. Tatum,
Manager, Airports Division, Federal Aviation Administration, Northwest
Mountain Region, Renton, Washington.
William E. Brougher,
SEPA Responsible Official, Port of Seattle.
[FR Doc. 94-137 Filed 1-4-94; 8:45 am]
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