OLYMPIA — A bill aimed at improving the health of people who live in communities around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was heard Wednesday in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee.

People living under flight paths near Sea-Tac Airport are exposed to more noise pollution and higher concentrations of ultrafine particle pollution associated with aircraft, which has been linked to asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart disease, breast and prostate cancer. These residents also have a lower life expectancy and are hospitalized at higher rates than the rest of King County for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 

Senate Bill 5652, sponsored by Sen. Tina Orwall (D-Des Moines), would address these disparities by establishing an iterative process to develop, review, pilot, and implement strategies to mitigate aviation-related air pollution and noise impacts on airport communities. 

As part of this effort, the University of Washington would develop exposure maps and assess indoor and outdoor air quality and noise impacts for homes, schools, and child care and community centers. 

“Sea-Tac Airport is a critical part of our economy. But as its operations continue to expand, we must ensure we are mitigating the harm it is causing to surrounding communities,” Orwall said. “No one in my district waived their right to good health simply because they live near the airport. This is a commonsense action plan that would bring justice to airport communities and ensure our most vulnerable residents can live healthy lives.” 

The bill would also create a work group that includes members from the impacted communities to develop and regularly update a mitigation plan, as well as establish a grant program to help local governments and organizations pay expenses related to implementing the plan’s mitigation strategies. In addition, the bill would task the Office of the Washington State Auditor with auditing “port packages” — or noise mitigation retrofits — that have been installed in communities near Sea-Tac Airport.

Since the 1980s, the Port of Seattle and the Federal Aviation Administration have contracted to install port packages, which include double- or triple-paned windows and other upgrades, to reduce the noise airport communities experience. However, hundreds of these packages have failed, causing leaks and mold growth, and Sea-Tac Airport has not fixed a single one to date. 

Several leaders of airport communities testified in support of the bill during Wednesday’s committee hearing.

Joe Vinson, SeaTac city councilmember, said the city supports the bill’s efforts to hold the airport accountable for its health and environmental impacts, especially on overburdened communities.

“SeaTac is the city where the state’s largest airport is physically located, embedded in residential neighborhoods, and as a result, our residents experience sustained exposure to environmental health impacts associated with airport operations,” Vinson said. “Senate Bill 5652 appropriately centers overburdened communities and vulnerable populations in evaluating those impacts.”

Joe Dusenbury, chairman of the Des Moines city council’s airport advisory committee, highlighted the need to mitigate the airport’s effects as its operations continue to grow.

“As we plan for that growth, all of us — that means all of us — need to realize that increasing the total amount of passenger volume from 52.6 million per year to 64.1 million and the number of flight operations from 429,000 to 510,00 per year over the next decade will have significant impacts on the surrounding communities,” Dusenbury said. “It is vitally important that the airport communities continue to be safe, economically viable, and healthy cities. This legislation is a first step in ensuring that will happen.”

Orwall has also introduced a bill this session to allocate a portion of hazardous substance tax revenues from aviation fuel to mitigate air and noise pollution in airport communities. That bill is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee at 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26. Orwall’s efforts build on prior legislative actions to mitigate noise pollution and increase health equity for people living near SeaTac Airport.