Council member Lisa Herbold in her email to constituents talked about a letter she wrote regarding the fate of the T-5 Terminal in West Seattle. Herbold wrote:

"Tucked behind the Chelan Café, Terminal 5 (T5) has sat empty since late 2014 when the Port Commission authorized $4.7 million for modernization of the terminal. A draft environmental impact study (DEIS) will be coming out in mid-May. It will present three options with varying costs and improvements that would be made to the terminal.

While attending the Delridge District Council meeting last Wednesday I presented to the Port representative in attendance a letter supporting the concerns that I am hearing from constituents about the T5 project. Foremost among them is the need to provide shore power as part of this project.

Shore power provides electrical power to a ship when docked so that it does not have to run its diesel engines while at port; this is significantly more environmentally friendly as well as reduces noise. In addition, the letter underscores the need to implement a quiet zone for trains and utilize broadband back-up alarms to help with noise reduction.

After the DEIS comes out in mid-May there will be another 30-day comment period. Stay tuned for more information on outreach the Port will be conducting"

The text of her letter (also at the link) follows:

Seattle City Council
Office of Councilmember Lisa Herbold
April 20, 2016
Commission President John Creighton
Port of Seattle
P.O. Box 1209
Seattle, WA 98111

Dear President Creighton,
I understand that the draft environmental impact study (EIS) for Terminal 5 (T5) will be released in mid-May and will have three different options to present to the community. I have heard from many constituents that noise is a major disturbance to the surrounding area - this is caused by train traffic, cranes and other machinery, back-up alarms, and idle ships.

Staff in my office have had several conversations with Lindsay Wolpa at the Port of Seattle regarding T5 and have been told that the installation of shore power, the implementation of a quiet zone, and the addition of broadband back-up alarms are all being considering in the draft EIS in order to reduce the noise emitted from T5. I am very appreciative of the Port's willingness to engage in conversation and consideration of these concepts.

Once the draft EIS is released, there will be a 30-day comment period and I would encourage the Port to reach out to the various community councils in West Seattle in order to inform them of the options that are presented in the EIS and gather their input. I would be happy to help coordinate and promote these meetings. Many constituents have already contacted my office and are very eager to participate in these discussions.

I have consistently heard that the installation of shore power would greatly reduce the noise that is produced by container ships as well as the cranes at T5, additionally this would help with the environmental impacts caused by the ships continuous running of their engines. The electricity that would be provided by Seattle City Light (SCL) is considerably clearer than a diesel engine running around the clock. What's more, SCL has indicated to my staff that they have the capacity to support shore power hook ups at T5.

Furthermore, I support the use of broadband back-up alarms witch operate at a frequency that dissipates more quickly and will not travel as far, again reducing the noise pollution to the surrounding community.

The final component is the around-the-clock train traffic that is generated by a tenant operating at T5. I want to encourage your efforts to look into applying a quiet zone. Many constituents have written about the noise that is emitted from trains entering and leaving T5 at the Chelan Cafe intersection and have suggested making the area a quiet zone.

I want to thank the Port for their willingness to work with my office on these issues and look forward to working together as we continue to move through this process.

Lisa Herbold
District 1 Councilmember/ West Seattle/South Park
CC: Commissions of the Northwest Seaport Alliance