MEETING SUMMARY
SB-6173 – HAZARDOUS WILDLIFE ATTRACTANTS NEAR AIRPORTS
March 13, 2006
Location: Transportation Building – Shaman Conference Room
Washington State Department of Transportation
310 Maple Park Avenue SE
Olympia WA 98504-7300
Participants:
Stan Allison WSDOT Aviation
Cayla Morgan FAA
Peter Birch WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Nancy Brennan-Dubbs U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Michael Cheyne WAMA
Elizabeth Leavitt Port of Seattle
Genevieve Pisarski WA State Senate Legislative Staff
Laurence Schafer USDA
Melodie Selby WSD Ecology
Greg Wingard Waste Action Project
Mike Stephens WSDOT - Environmental Services
Becky Stanley Sierra Club
Brett Fish Sierra Club
Sam Thompson WA State Senate – Environmental Committee
Mark Ewbank Herrera
Call Meeting to Order: Stan Allison, WSDOT Aviation, called the meeting to order at 1 p.m.
Background: During the 2003-2004 legislative session Senators Haugen, Mulliken, Horn, Morton, Pflug and Kastama proposed Senate Bill 6173 to address Hazardous Wildlife Attractants near airports. The initial bill was later amended as Substitute Senate Bill (SSB) 6173, and passed from the House to the Senate for further consideration. SSB 6173 was unable to move out of the House Resource and Agricultural Lands Committee. Senator Haugen directed WSDOT Aviation to gather interested parties together to explore possible solutions to the concerns over this bill.
WSDOT held two stakeholder meetings in April 2004. Participants agreed that real solutions were needed to address hazardous wildlife attractants near airports. It was also agreed that water quality and wildlife issues were equally as important. Several solutions were addressed and the group decided on the following next steps:
- WSDOT Aviation would take the lead on developing a draft memorandum of agreement with other state representatives. Once completed the draft would be discussed at the next meeting.
- Develop a technical committee to address short and long term issues and solutions that meet both state and federal regulations and best management practices.
- Pursue legislative funding to support development of an aviation stormwater manual, technical committee and research on best management practices.
Project scoping: WSDOT’s Stan Allison confirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would provide a $190,000 grant to study the issues surrounding hazardous wildlife attractants near airports. Allison also said that WSDOT could use its existing on-call stormwater services contract to secure Herrera as its consultant. He expressed to the group that he hoped the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss relevant topics and create an outline for scoping. He asked the group to talk specifically about what should be included in the aviation specific manual relating to stormwater and protecting against hazardous wildlife attractants. FAA’s Cayla Morgan clarified that it was her understanding that the FAA would address stormwater specifically, as opposed to wetland mitigation.
Discussion:
Open water - Task force members discussed the issue of open water on airports, which attracts mostly birds. Since open water on airports includes stormwater, ponds, water quality treatment, wetlands, etc., most members agreed that the manual should define the types of water in order to avoid ambiguity. Members also said that several factors contribute to the kinds of water that might attract a certain type of bird. Therefore, the manual should address these factors and identify what attracts which birds. Additionally, members discussed the many ways to reduce or camouflage open water. The discussion centered on ways to reduce available open water while still meeting guidelines.
Stormwater Manual – Allison provided an opportunity for members to discuss specifically the development and contents of a stormwater manual to address hazardous wildlife attractants on airports. It was noted that manuals offer guidance and shortcuts, but are not rulebooks. Most members agreed that the manual should be used as a tool, but should first meet the state’s water quality requirements. Several ecology manuals and the WSDOT highway manual deal with stormwater, but also other water issues. Members said WSDOT should look through the manuals to see which ones affect airports, and then identify what attracts wildlife. All agreed that the manual should be used as an opportunity to improve water quality, habitats and safety.
Questions:
Q: What is the project timeline?
A: We would like to develop the Scope of Work by May 1, 2006 for the FAA grant issuance.
Q: How would task force members like to receive updates and information about this project?
A: Task force members agreed that email and the WSDOT Aviation Web site were the best ways to receive information about the project.
Q: When is the next task force meeting scheduled?
A: WSDOT’s Stan Allison will check for member availability and send out a meeting announcement within the next couple of weeks.
Comments: Some concerns and suggestions from the meeting are summarized as follows:
- Off-site mitigation is restricted to certain times and places; however, it can still be used as a tool.
- Two different airports can have the same size ponds but attract different, more dangerous kinds of wildlife. We need to look at the distinguishing characteristics of airports.
- It’s not just the birds in and around the water that are creating the hazard, it’s the birds circling above the water. We need to look at this issue specifically.
- When using the FAA Advisory Circular, we need to remember that the affected wildlife species table is based on national strikes. For this manual we should focus on birds that are an issue in Washington State.
- Water quality standards are not always protective of endangered species. Some amounts of contaminants are still permitted and do not always provide the necessary quality of water for fish.
- We should look at getting rid of food sources as a way to deter wildlife. Port of Seattle was successful in using this approach.
- We should look at the number of ponds each airport has because birds like to fly from pond to pond, which creates a spider web effect that can be very harmful to aircraft operations.
- We should make sure we take a cost/benefit approach. We are always going to be in a position of weighing alternatives and doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
Next Steps: WSDOT, FAA and Herrera will work together to develop a timeline and Scope of Work. Task force members will be notified via email about any new updates, information or upcoming meeting dates.