[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M