REMINDER: Port of Seattle’s Part 150 Sea-Tac Airport noise study workshops begin Wednesday

The Port of Seattle is holding three workshops this week to explain their latest Part 150 Study, the first of which is set for 6–8 p.m. this Wednesday night, June 5, 2024 at Gregory Heights Elementary School in Burien.

In short, ‘Part 150’ refers to an FAA program the airport engages in every decade or so to measure community noise levels. The last one was in 2013.

“A Part 150 Noise and Land Use Compatibility Study is a voluntary FAA program that sets guidelines for airport operators to document aircraft noise exposure, and to establish noise abatement and compatible land use programs,” according to the Port. “These noise abatement procedures and/or mitigation programs must be approved by the FAA in order to qualify for potential federal funding. This will be the fourth Part 150 update undertaken at SEA Airport since the initial study was conducted in 1985.”

Long Story Short: These studies set the noise boundary area around the airport known as the DNL65. If you live inside the DNL65 you are eligible for mitigations such as sound insulation. If you’re outside it? You’re not. And we’re stuck with that decision until the next Part 150.

In fact, in the 2013 version, the noise boundary actually shrank—making even fewer people eligible for sound insulation just as airport operations began ramping up with the double-digit growth we now experience! If we do not show up this time, and make our concerns known, it could shrink again! This is our chance to right this wrong.

Whether or not you are currently eligible for sound insulation, or if you have a Port Package and are in need of an update, you need to attend one of these workshops!

How to attend

Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Time: 6:00PM – 8:00 PM

Location: Gregory Heights Elementary School

16201 16th Ave. SW, Burien WA 98166

Date: Thursday, June 6, 2024

Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM

Location: Mount Rainier High School

22450 19th Ave. S, Des Moines, WA 98198

Date: Saturday, June 8, 2024

Time: 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Location: Glacier Middle School

2450 S 142nd St., SeaTac, WA 98168

Anyone needing language interpretation, special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act can contact the Noise Programs office at 206-787-5393 or P150@portseattle.org. Food and childcare will be provided.