Port eager to reduce emissions at Sea-Tac

For the first time ever, the Port of Seattle has taken stock of the greenhouse gas that is pumped into the atmosphere by activities associated with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, from parking-lot and hotel shuttles to the vehicles on the tarmac — and, of course, the jets themselves.

The news is sobering.

"Airports are big polluters," said John Creighton, president of the Port commission. "But we want to be part of the solution not the problem, and the first step is getting solid data, to reduce aviation-related emissions."

Airport activities generated about 5 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions in 2006 — and 84 percent of that came from airplane emissions, according to the report. Emissions associated with airline travel were equivalent to each of Sea-Tac's 31 million passengers that year driving for 300 miles in cars that get 23 miles per gallon, according to Russ Simonson, a senior environmental program manager at Sea-Tac.

Transportation to and from the airport was a distant second, at 11 percent of the problem. All the other activities on the ground came to 5 percent or less.

Sea-Tac is the nation's 17th busiest airport, and last year was its busiest ever.

The Port already has identified steps it wants to take to reduce the emissions, including consolidating shuttle-bus trips and converting some ground-crew vehicles to natural gas. Other airports in the country, including Los Angeles, Dallas and Phoenix, already have taken similar steps.

Airport officials also say they want to build the infrastructure needed to provide electrical power and air to airplanes while they are parked at the gate, so pilots can switch off the jet engines. Some other airports already have taken those steps, too.

But the airport may also use the emissions inventory to break new ground.

Creighton said he sees a special role for Seattle, the home of Boeing and Alaska Airlines, to lead the way nationally. "We need a Northwest clean-air strategy for the airport," Creighton said.

He said he may push the Port to support federal emissions reductions for aircraft and work with airlines to set voluntary targets to reduce aircraft emissions at the Port of Seattle.

It's worked before on other environmental issues. In the 1980s, the Port negotiated with the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration to phase out noisier planes.

While the FAA would prefer a national approach, there's nothing standing in the way of Sea-Tac again negotiating voluntary agreements, this time on air pollution, said Carl Burleson, director of the office of environment and energy for the FAA.

The FAA is helping airports reduce emissions through operational changes, including implementing more efficient routes, new navigational equipment and switching to electrical power for gate operations, Burleson said.

Any local emission-reduction targets would have to be significant but realistic, Creighton said, taking into consideration current technology, public-safety issues and airlines' need to remain competitive.

"We don't want to impose standards that aren't reachable," Creighton said. "But I think the Port of Seattle has a role to play and needs to step up and lead."

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736

or lmapes@seattletimes.com