By Charlotte Persons
In early July, in response to projected new demand for air passengers, the state-wide Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission will be contacting the Board of Commissioners of Thurston County and Commissions of the Port of Olympia (POO). A letter will ask each local board whether Thurston County or Port of Olympia wants to be considered as one of 5 to 7 possible locations for a new Seatac-sized airport to be built by 2050.
The airport would need a 7-square-mile greenspace. Planning would take ten years, with possible expansion of existing airports to handle additional passenger capacity before the new airport is built.
At their meeting on June 22, the Thurston County Commissioners unanimously voted “no” to the early July deadline because of lack of information about the proposed airport. They may revisit it later if contacted by the State Commission.
However, the Port of Olympia Commissioners have not yet voted, and two of the three commissioners seem to be leaning toward a “yes” vote. At the suggestion of Port Commissioner E.J. Zita, they agreed at the June 18 Special Meeting not to vote until there are opportunities for citizen input at public meetings.
Please check the POO Commission website to weigh in on this important issue. Follow this link and click on Agendas to see when public meetings will be scheduled on this topic. However, the next regular meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 13, and probably will be the next opportunity for your comments.
At the date of writing this article, during the COVID-19 shutdown, POO Commission meetings are on-line. Citizens must send written (emailed) testimony by 9:00 on the morning of a meeting and must sign up by the same time for live testimony. Please check to see if meetings are on-line on July 13–if not, protocol for public comments will change.
Since the Port of Olympia owns no 7-square-mile parcels, a “yes” vote from POO commissioners might mean expanding the current Olympia Regional Airport through eminent domain. Other possible flat areas in the county for an airport are prime farmland around Tenino and Yelm that is not well protected from development. All flat and especially gravelly land in Thurston County, including the airport, is potential or actual habitat for threatened Mazama Pocket Gophers.
One look at the City of Seatac shows the need to plan well for lots of other development around a big airport’s footprint — warehouse/distribution centers, motels, car rental agencies, car parks, etc. While the economic impact might be welcome, we would have increased air and noise pollution from airplanes, automobiles, and diesel freight trucks. The not-yet-approved Thurston County Climate Mitigation plan would have no chance of success. Another environmental concern is increased flooding from building so many impervious surfaces. What are Thurston County’s chances of being selected for a new airport? Most important, our area is close to I-5 and major metropolitan centers. Compared to many other areas further north, it has relatively cheap land, space for more air traffic, and capacity for more air pollution under current regulations. Thurston County would be a serious contender. That’s why your input is important!
