OLYMPIA REGIONAL AIRPORT

Protesters, Port staff differ about expectations for Airport Master Plan Update

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Some 60 area residents protested last night for 30 minutes outside of the Port of Olympia’s meeting room, prior to the commissioners’ regular meeting, seeking to persuade the commissioners to halt what they see as expansion of Olympia Regional Airport.

Port staff rejected claims that the Airport Master Plan Update under development would be used to increase "operations," the term that encompasses aircraft take-offs and landings. Protestors claimed that the update would increase traffic to 630 daily operations.

Approximately 45 of the protestors entered the meeting; of these, 17  spoke during the public comments portion.

The Airport Master Plan Update has been under development for a year and is set to be discussed by the commission once its draft is published in February. Members of the group warned the commission that increased air traffic would contribute to pollution as well as negatively impact human health. 

“Please consider how this increase in air traffic will bring increased noise and air pollution,” said Carla Wulfsberg, a member of the group. “Before you vote on the master plan update, our health is at stake here. I wonder if you ask the citizens of Thurston County to vote to increase air traffic, what would be their vote?”

The commissioners did not directly respond to public comments. Toward the end of their meeting, they deliberated about why the group had organized a protest.

Port staff blame social media for misinformation

Port Operations Director Rudy Rudolph said that though he did not want to discount the concerns of the protestors, he believed that they were misinformed.

“A lot of this is folks that don't have accurate information,” he said. “[Misinformation] has increased and spread among the folks that they talk to in their online groups.”

Airport Senior Manager Warren Hendrickson told The JOLT that they are still searching where the protestors might have gotten the 630 figure, but explained that a single runway with instrument-capable navigation [such as Olympia Regional Airport] could typically accommodate 630  to 670 operations a day.

“That would be the case for any single runway anywhere in the country,” he said, adding. “If it has instrument capability, if it's scheduled for day-night operations, if it is equipped with lights and suitable navigation facilities ... any single runway would be capable of 26 to 28 operations an hour.”

“When you multiply that out, that comes out to basically 630 to 670 operations a day,” he added.

Hendrickson explained that the Olympia Regional Airport could possibly do 26 operations every hour, 24 hours per day, but it would require a significant increase in staffing and that the control tower, which currently operates for 12 hours daily, would need to be in operation for the entire day.

November 2022: 209 average daily operations

Hendrickson told The JOLT that the Olympia Regional Airport only had a daily average of 209 operations as of November 2022. He said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forecasts that this number will increase to 232 operations per day by 2040. But in terms of capacity, Hendrickson said the number would remain the same.

“If we did not do a new airport master plan, these numbers would not change because the runway is not changing,” Hendrickson said. “That runway capacity is the same as it was in 2013 for that master plan as it was in 2003 in that master plan. “

To compare the capacity of other airports, Hendrickson talked about San Diego International Airport, which he said was the busiest single-runway commercial airport in the country. He noted that the airport had an annual average of 610 flights per day through November 2022, and served 15.6 million passengers that year. 

“When the Stop Olympia Airport Growth group comes forward and says these numbers, they're saying that Olympia Regional Airport will have more flights per day than San Diego airport,” Hendrickson said during the commission meeting. “It's hard to imagine where they came up with that conclusion.”

Protestors voice additional concerns

Members of the protesting group also demanded that the Port conduct an environmental impact before approving the master plan update.

“Consider that no study has been conducted to examine the probable effects of noise and air pollution on people, animals and habitat,” Wulfsberg said. “This is an enormous oversight and an Environmental Impact Statement absolutely should be done.”

Hendrickson told The JOLT that while they are planning to do a State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) study as part of the master plan update, most of the actual environmental planning will be done during the execution phase of the project.

“Not until a project is actually approved by the Port commission… do we then begin the design process, the planning process, [and] the permitting process through the city of Tumwater,” he said.

Some protestors were concerned about FAA funding the study, which they believed meant that the FAA could force Olympia Regional Airport to accept more flights.

“If you take the money for the update as it's written and make the changes that will allow more air traffic, the FAA can force the airport to accept planes as soon as those changes are made,” said Sharron Coontz of the Stop Olympia Airport Growth.

Hendrickson was participating at another meeting during the time members of the public spoke; he arrived toward the end of the meeting. Commissioner Amy Evans Harding asked him about Coontz’s claim.

He said that the Port will continue to have direct control of the airport. “The FAA cannot impose anything upon us that we are not willing to accept, other than the promises that we agree to when we accept federal grant money,” Hendrickson said.

Residents say they seek to impact decisions

Coontz was also concerned that the public engagement process of the Airport Master Plan Update ended at “inform and consult.”

“The [IAP2 spectrum] says inform, consult, involve, collaborate and empower, but our Port ignores those last three,” she said. “ [The Port] doesn't even pretend to... This assures that public participation and input will not actually influence or impact the final decision.”

Hendrickson told The JOLT that their public engagement process was in line with the requirements set out by the FAA.

“We are in compliance with the communication requirements of the master plan,” he said, adding that the airport appointed a technical advisory committee made up of airport users and that they held several public open houses to inform the public about the master plan update.

Public meeting January 18

The Port has scheduled a public meeting on, Wednesday, January 18, starting at 6 p.m.  Click here to register.

Hendrickson said he intends to answer any questions from the public at that meeting. Rudolph encouraged the public to participate so they could ask more questions about the airport.

Comments

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  • AugieH

    I moved to this area from Glendale, CA that sits amidst a plethora of airports: Burbank, LAX, Long Beach, and Orange County. When the acoustics were right, I could hear take-offs from Burbank.

    The powers that decide such things seem determined to begin commercial service from another airport between SeaTac and Portland. The only question is where. Wherever that proves to be, the residents living in the area already will protest louder than the jet engines they object to.

    Olympia Airport already exists. I suspect it would cost less to upgrade it for expanded commercial services than it would to create a brand new airport from scratch. All other things being equal, i.e., vociferous objections to whatever site is ultimately selected, I would hope the obvious cost considerations are not ignored.

    Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Report this

  • JanWitt

    Hmmm. The airport manager wonders where protesters may have gotten the 630 flights per day figure: Protesters got that figure from the Olympia Airport's own current (2013) Master Plan (pg. C.9.) The plan states that the taxiways would need to undergo reconfiguration to accommodate that number of operations. No coincidence then, that taxiway reconfiguration is one of the projects proposed in the current Master Plan Update. And - as far as the airport manager's assertion that protesters "do not have accurate information" - information dispersed has been carefully fact checked. The facts are that - 1) the proposed Master Plan Update includes feasibility study plans for a Commercial Passenger Terminal, 600 parking stalls (with ample room for more), vertiports (for vertical landing and takeoffs) - at a time when there is a projected future 400,000 annual commercial operational overflow that cannot be accommodated at SeaTac in the future. 2) the Olympia Airport is poorly sited to accommodate growth. Due to prevailing winds flight paths go directly over nearby residential neighborhoods, parks, schools. 3) the Olympia airport makes money off the sale of leaded aviation fuel 4) the Port has done nothing to address community concerns about adverse impacts of aircraft flights (noise, air pollution) on health 5) Acceptable airport/aircraft noise levels established by the FAA are far louder than noise levels deemed acceptable and safe for human health by the EPA, the World Health Organization, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and even the World Bank 6) the Olympia Airport has been undergoing an incremental expansion that has included forced property buyouts (including of an entire neighborhood south of the airport) , main runway strengthening and lengthening, construction of larger hangers to accommodate larger private / corporate jets. All of this under the blanket of an Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental review last conducted in 1994 which stated that "the airport is not planned for any change" 7: the proposed 2022 Master Plan Update plans for a new turf runway parallel to the main north/south runway. 8. most airports the size of the Olympia Airport have about three helicopters that are based at such airports. The Olympia Airport now has EIGHTEEN based helicopters, There has been no environmental assessment pertaining to impacts of those helicopters which regularly fly at altitudes of only 500 feet over our communities 9. the latest plan for the Olympia Airport is that 75 year lease with Swire Coca Cola on 95 acres near the main airport runway - a project which, if it comes to fruition, would result in destruction of prime habitat for several endangered species.

    Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Report this

  • Scooter

    To reach the magic number of 630 would require more than just an upgraded runway. The flow of traffic both in the air and on the ground would have to carefully orchestrated and, like was said, the airport only operates on a 12 hour basis. btw....if there were to be 630 events in a day where would those aircraft park, refuel, obtain maintenance, etc. The FAA forecast is for 232 events by 2040, an increase of 38 events per day over a 17 year period. Would seem to me that improvements are necessary to maintain a safe environment.

    Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Report this

  • JanWitt

    The Olympia Airport does NOT currently operate on an only 12 hour basis. Although the control tower is staffed only 12 hours per day, planes takeoff and land there 24 hours per day,

    The average of 630 operations per day airport capacity was based on information provided in the current Olympia Airport Master Plan - which is the 2013 plan. That current Master Plan plan states that the airport has capacity to accommodate 230,000 operations annually - that the primary thing that would need to occur (in order for the airport to accommodate that many aircraft) would be changes to "optimize" the exit taxiway system. Changes to the taxiway system are among items proposed in the current Master Plan Update. (For anyone wishing to fact-check - the current Airport Master Plan is on the Port Website. See page C.9)

    Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Report this

  • FirstOtter

    I was one of those people who attended the above mentioned Port Meeting.

    You know how you talk to your sullen teenager about why or what that kid has done? Or hasn't done? They get that vacant look in their eyes, as if the only things going into their ears is 'blahblahblah'. That's the reaction we got from the Port.

    Indifference. As if we were nothing more than a cloud of flies interfering with their picnic.

    Their expressions were that of "We are NOT LISTENING." THere was some eye rolling, that said, , as if to say, you are taking my valuable time. This is the price, they seemed to say, for us getting a hefty paycheck.

    Even when their own Master Plan was read to them VERBATIM they refused to accept that we, the taxpayers, actually READ IT. One person who I shan't name looked annoyed that we were there.

    They have no intention of doing anything but ramming this up our backends. They won't be affected by any of the 630 flights that their own plan forecasts. THey won't end up having their property values plummet, or av gas drifting down onto their heads, or the never ending noise of constant flights. Nope. They've been bought by some deep pocketed corporations..for instance, I wouldnt be surprised if Amazon hadn't said, boy, it sure would be nice to have you provide an airport for our cargo jets.

    And isn't it funny...when they ran for their positions on the Port, not a single one of their statements said "We intend to destroy your neighhborhoods by turning the airport into a smaller version of SeaTac."

    I'm not even going into the Pantonni development or their sucking up to CocaCola's bottling plant.

    It's time to abolish the Port of Olympia. THey have way overstepped their bounds. THey are working for themselves, not US. And we pay them for this. I can think of better ways for my property taxes that fund the Port than this.

    Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Report this