The cafeteria of Mount Rainier High School was packed recently for the third in a series of public workshops regarding airport noise.

The Port of Seattle and consulting firm Landrum and Brown have been conducting a Part 150 study for the Federal Aviation Administration. A Part 150 study is submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration in order to secure funding for noise control.

Officials divided the crowd into three groups in order to inform them of the progress made so far.
Rob Adams, the project manager of the Part 150 study from Landrum and Brown, said that a possible solution being posed was the building of a hush house for airplane run-ups.

A hush house is a three-sided wall that encloses around an airplane as it does its engine run-ups on the runway.

"It would decrease noise by 15 to 20 decibels," Adams told the audience.

He said the Port was looking potential sites, with one location already in mind.

Audience members were also invited to ask questions and express concerns. Some used it as an outlet to vent their frustration.

"You've been talking about a hush house since 1989 and it still hasn't happened," one woman said.
Another woman told Adams that the hush house was definitely a solution that community members wanted, but she was concerned about how the Port would pay for it. The typical hush house costs $3 to $6 million.

"Federal grants would support it," Adams said.

The possible hush house would be made to accommodate a Boeing 757 and would cover 96 percent of engine run-ups.

Other solutions the Port is considering is offering sound insulation to apartments and multi-family homes around the noise area and starting a seller assistance program for people who choose to move out.

The Part 150 study will be completed in late 2011.

For information, visit http://www.airportsites.net/SEA-Part150/default.htm.