MEETING SUMMARY
SB-6173 – HAZARDOUS WILDLIFE ATTRACTANTS NEAR AIRPORTS

April 8, 2004

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, allisos@wsdot.wa.gov
John Shambaugh, WSDOT Aviation, mailto:shambj@wsdot.wa.gov
Ken Stone, WSDOT Environmental, mailto:stonek@wsdot.wa.gov
Lynn Deardorf, FAA, lynn.deardorff@faa.gov
Marina Landis, FAA, marina.landis@faa.gov
Cayla Morgan, FAA, cayla.morgan@faa.gov
Mike Linnell, USDA, mike.a.linnell@usda.gov
Laurence Schafer, USDA, laurence.m.schafer@usda.gov
Melodie Selby, WSD Ecology, msel461@ecy.wa.gov
Dave Peeler, WSD Ecology, mailto:dpee461@ecy.wa.gov
Peter Birch, DFW, mailto:birchpbb@dfw.wa.gov
Caroleen Dineen, WA House of Representatives, mailto:dineen-ca@leg.wa.gov
Andrea McNamara, WA Senate Land Use, mcnamara_an@leg.wa.gov
Kelly Simpson, WA Senate Hwys & Trans, simpson_ke@leg.wa.gov
Eric Johnson, WPPA, mailto:ericj@washingtonports.org
Susie Tracy, Lobbyist WPPA, mailto:tracy2123@attbi.com
Jeff Robb, WAMA, jeffrobb@olypen.com
Heath G. Packard, Audubon Society, mailto:hpackard@audubon.org

Not Present:

Megan White, WSDOT Environmental, mailto:whitem@wsdot.wa.gov
Josh Baldi, WS Environmental Council, mailto:josh@wecprotects.org

Call Meeting to Order: Stan Allison, WSDOT Aviation called the meeting to order at 10:30 am

Background: Senate Bill 6173 was proposed by Senators Haugen, Mulliken, Horn, Morton, Pflug and Kastama to address Hazardous Wildlife Attractants near airports during the 2003-2004 legislative session. The proposed bill raised the level of awareness of potential hazardous wildlife attractants near airports to local jurisdictions and state agencies and would require that stormwater and wetland mitigation be developed in a manner that is compatible with the safe operation of public use airport operations. The initial draft bill proposed amendments to RCW 90.74.020 Aquatic Resources, added a new section to chapter 14.08 RCW Municipal Airports and created a new section.

The initial draft bill was amended, SSB 6173 and passed to the House from the Senate for further consideration. Amendments to the bill included: adding findings about the prevalence and consequences of aircraft-wildlife strikes from the 2003 Memorandum of Agreement between the FAA and other federal agencies; would require that stormwater and wetland mitigation at public use airports comply with Federal Aviation Guidelines AC 150/5200-33 to the maximum extent allowable under federal and state law; deletes proposed amendments under RCW 14.08 Municipal Airports; and adds another provision in chapter 90.74 aquatic resources prohibiting land uses that are incompatible with FAA recommendations relating to safe airport operations. SSB 6173 was unable to move out of the Resource and Agricultural Lands Committee in the House.

Senator Haugen directed WSDOT Aviation to gather interested parties together to explore possible solutions to the concerns over language in the bill. 

Aviation Issues: 

• Aviation Study Teams were appointed in 2003 to help develop recommendations for WSDOT Aviation on Education, Search and Rescue, State Grant Administration and the Aviation System Plan. One of the recommendations included addressing wildlife hazards near airports.
• Aircraft-wildlife strikes are the second leading cause of aviation-related fatalities. While these strikes are not frequent when compared to the millions of annual aircraft operations, the potential for catastrophic loss of human life resulting from one incident is substantial.
• Between 1990 and 2002 there were 696 bird strikes in Washington State.
• It is estimated that 75 percent of all civil aviation airstrikes occur near airports.
• Waterfowl (31%), gulls (29%), and raptors (17%) represented 77% of the reported bird strikes causing damage to U.S. civil aircraft, 1990-2002.

FAA Advisory Circular (AC): Brief descriptions of the existing FAA advisory circular and proposed advisory circular were discussed during the meeting.
AC 150/5200-33. The existing AC provides guidance on locating certain land uses having the potential to attract hazardous wildlife to or in the vicinity of public-use airports. It also provides guidance concerning the placement of new airport development projects (including airport construction, expansion, and renovation) pertaining to aircraft movement in the vicinity of hazardous wildlife attractants. The advisory circular was adopted in 1997.
AC 150/5200-33A Draft. The draft AC provides improved information and guidance on protecting airports operations from hazardous wildlife. However, the draft would not apply to all public use airports.

Stormwater and wetland mitigation: Stormwater and wetland mitigation was discussed at length during the meeting. Major issues included:

• New State stormwater guidelines increased requirements for stormwater retention to meet new federal clean water drinking standards.
• Increased wildlife mitigation requirements to enhance habitat.
• Lack of understanding by state and local agencies on hazardous wildlife attractants and implication on airport operations and safety adjacent to airports.
• No clear standards at the state level on how to address hazardous wildlife attractants causing lengthy project delays and increased costs.
• Conflicting standards between State agencies and FAA standards placing airports sponsors in an unpredictable position.
• Concern with new stormwater guidelines.
• Many were concerned that the stormwater guidelines were used not as guidelines but as requirements and that there was no alternative to the amount of water that needed to be impounded or construction of impoundment areas.
• Airports that are required to meet FAA grant assurances are required to comply with federal aviation standards and therefore not constructing a project is not an alternative.

Environmental Issues: Wildlife, wildlife habitat and federal clean water standards were addressed in conjunction with discussions on stormwater and wetland mitigation. Currently, the USDA is conducting research on what attracts wildlife to certain types of habitats and to develop solutions or alternatives that would decrease hazardous wildlife situations near airports. The Department of Ecology (DOE) indicated that the stormwater manual contained implementation guidelines and were not requirements. The guidelines contained proven scientific standards and practices to help meet federal and state stormwater requirements. Applicants could vary from the standards and practices if they can show that they met the requirements under law. The Department of Transportation (DOT) indicated that they had developed a stormwater guidance handbook for highway and roads because DOE stormwater guidelines were not appropriate for many road project situations. Additionally the new DOT standards may be appropriate for aviation. Another solution may be for aviation to develop similar guidance materials.

Summary: Meeting participants agreed that hazardous wildlife attractants near public use airports could be injurious to the public health and safety. However, there was not an agreement on how to address the situation. Several possible solutions might include:

• Developing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between state agencies similar to the federal MOA.
• Developing an aviation stormwater manual to guide stormwater mitigation near airports.
• Forming an interagency technical team to address stormwater issues when conflicts arise between FAA standards and State standards.
• Developing new or amended legislation.

Next Steps: Meeting participants agreed that the meeting was useful and that the issue needed further discussions. The next meeting was scheduled for April 22, 2004, at 10:00 am at the Washington Public Ports Association Office conference room. Participants agreed to provide recommendations and provide recommended language to the current proposed bill SB 6173/SSB 6173.

Meeting was adjourned at 12:15 pm.

Sponsored by:

WSDOT Aviation
3704 172nd Street NE, Suite K2
P.O. Box 3367
Arlington, WA 98223
360-651-6301
360-651-6319 FAX
jensenm@wsdot.wa.gov