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Advisory committee approves work plan, adds support for city response to SEPA draft EIS

Advisory Airport Advisory Committee · January 13, 2026

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Summary

The Des Moines advisory committee approved its recommended work plan with staff edits and added a new bullet directing support for the city's response to the SAMP/SEPA draft EIS; members agreed to prepare graphics and a short presentation for the council and to prioritize testimony at committee hearings rather than a mass Olympia Day trip.

The Advisory Airport Advisory Committee approved a recommended work plan and agreed to add language endorsing the city’s response to the SAMP/SEPA draft Environmental Impact Statement, the committee said. Members voted by voice to adopt the work plan and the document changes after a motion and second; a voice vote followed with members answering “Aye.”

Committee members said staff’s redlined language was prepared to improve the plan’s reception by the City Council and emphasized that the advisory group can choose which exact recommendations to forward. "It is your recommended work plan, so it is really up to you what you vote for," an attendee said while describing the staff edits to the packet.

The committee added an explicit bullet to ‘‘support the city response and/or comments to the SEPA draft EIS’’ so mitigation measures discussed in the EIS can be emphasized in the committee’s advocacy and follow-up. Members also agreed to prepare an ~8-minute presentation plus questions for a council meeting referenced as "a week from Thursday" to explain the work plan and the committee’s concerns.

Speakers asked staff to provide clear graphics for the packet, including baseline (2022) and projected (2032) noise contours and simple graphs showing past and projected operations. Members set a near-term deadline for slide and graphic drafts so materials can be included in the council packet. One member said, "If you get help, I could... do the Excel" and volunteers offered to assist with numbers and visuals.

The committee closed with logistics: finalize packet edits, circulate the document to members, and coordinate who will testify at upcoming committee hearings. The chair said staff will circulate the final draft and keep the committee posted on next steps.