(The Center Square) – The search resumes for another primary commercial airport in Washington state.
Applications are being accepted for appointment to the new Commercial Aviation Work Group, which will be tasked with evaluating the state’s long-term aviation and transportation needs and identifying a site for a new or expanded facility.
The work group is expected to pick up where the former Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission left off. That panel was established by the state Legislature in 2019, but sunset on June 30 of this year without providing a recommended location for a future commercial airport that was acceptable to a majority of members or the public at large.
The state’s largest commercial facility, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in King County, is reportedly expected to reach its capacity in less than 30 years. The now-disbanded aviation commission struggled to identify a location for an additional new or expanded commercial facility that would be functional by 2040.
During this year’s legislative session, state lawmakers passed House Bill 1791, which Gov. Jay Inslee signed in mid-May after vetoing certain sections including an emergency clause that would have enacted it immediately. The revised measure took effect July 23. According to a legislative summary, it calls upon the new work group to “investigate the expansion of existing aviation facilities and possible siting locations for new greenfield aviation facilities.”
Members must consider both new and previously identified sites, but cannot consider expansion of any port- or county-run airport in a county with two million or more residents – that eliminates Sea-Tac Airport as an option – or a location that’s incompatible with operations of a military base.
Other factors the aviation work group must consider in its siting review include impacts to water quality, state greenhouse gas emission goals, and local planning under the state’s Growth Management Act.
The work group will be comprised of 19 voting members appointed by the governor to represent the airline industry or air service-dependent businesses, statewide business interests, commercial service airports, regional port districts, environmental organizations, trucking and freight industries, and eight citizen representatives.
The work group must also include 11 non-voting members representing the state Departments of Transportation (Aeronautics Division) and Commerce, the Washington State Aviation Alliance, the state Legislature, metropolitan planning organizations, and regional airports.
When established, the group must submit an annual progress report by July 1 to the governor and state legislative transportation committees.
“This work group will focus on use of new technology, environmental stewardship and resiliency in aviation,” said Ann Richart, Washington State Department of Transportation aviation director, said in a news release Tuesday. “Its members will be instrumental to considering how aviation can contribute to livable communities in Washington, particularly in western Washington.”
Persons interested in appointment to the aviation work group can apply now, with application reviews starting Oct. 9. Requirements for the positions can be found on the Governors Board and Commission profiles website under “Commercial Aviation Work Group.”
A new website for the Commercial Aviation Work Group allows people to sign up for updates. Those who signed up for past aviation commission emails have been added to the new work group’s email list.
