OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state lawmakers may end up doing a “do-over” on the topic of finding a new airport site to handle the growing crowds at Sea-Tac.
“I would say it’s largely starting all over,” said Rep. Jake Fey, (D) Tacoma, prime sponsor of House Bill 1791.
The bill calls for the creation of a workgroup to replace the commission that was established in 2019 to identify a potential site for a new airport.
It’s estimated Sea-Tac will not be able to keep up with the region’s growth and another location must be found for commercial and freight flights and cargo.
The commission identified three potential locations, two in Pierce County, and one in Thurston County, which generated complaints from property owners, farmers, county, and port officials.
The main complaint: they were not consulted about the unexpected decision.
”People should not be taken by surprise by something this big,” said Fey, who said conducting the study during a pandemic was not ideal.
“The way in which you can communicate with people has been limited. It does make sense to start over,” said Fey.
He said his bill, which has bipartisan support, calls for more public input than the commission formed in 2019 included.
Fey said the group may not necessarily come up with new locations for an airport.
”We’ve got a number of airports that are already sited that have the ability to expand, whether it’s Bremerton or Paine Field, or whatever it happens to be. It doesn’t have to be a one-facility solution,” said Fey.