Hello again Plateau Friends,
On May 15th, 2023, Governor Inslee signed ESHB-1791 with a PARTIAL VETO (veto of Sections 3, 5, 7, and 8).
This was a huge WIN for the ENUMCLAW PLATEAU!
Thanks to all who emailed the Governor to VETO Subsection 3.3, to allow consideration of all existing airports including future study of OPTIMIZING SeaTac for Passenger Only service, and converting McChord to a Joint Military – Civilian Cargo facility.
In his VETO message, Governor Inslee urged prioritizing “increasing capacity at existing airports before considering siting a new airport”.
This LAW does not “take Enumclaw Off The Table”, but it will allow the future COMMERCIAL AVIATION WORK GROUP to review a broader range of aviation capacity solutions, including how EXISTING AIRPORTS can be OPTIMIZED for the future … which hopefully will draw attention away from Enumclaw, aiding our future defense.
Note that ESHB-1791 Section 4 remains intact, therefore our Pierce and Thurston neighbors will remain protected due to their proximity to military airspace. This is a huge WIN for all potential greenfield sites, but there is still much more work ahead to solve the aviation capacity problem, in a way that protects The Plateau.
Click here to read
Governor Inslee’s VETO Message
HOW YOU CAN HELP NOW:
Because the Governor vetoed Section 8, the CACC remains active until June 15th 2023. Therefore, we urge all Plateau Friends to email this message to the CACC at this address: CACC@wsdot.wa.gov
To: Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission
Governor Inslee specifically instructed that the final CACC report “should reflect that the findings of the
Commission do not have a single site recommendation at this time”.
There is still an opportunity to point the CACC’s efforts in a productive direction! YAKIMA is the only
community that supports airport expansion. The Yakima Air Terminal has an innovative strategy that
warrants further analysis.
When the CACC hosts its final meeting, we urge you to invite YAKIMA to present their “Hub and Spoke taxi
system using Electric Aircraft”. Help educate the public of this future possibility and offer guidance for the future Work Group study.
Sincerely,