SMAAC - South Metro Airport Action Council

02/07/2024

https://smaacmn.org
See the 2024 News Blog: Print DFL Caucus Resolutions for 27 Feb 2024. Did your State Legislators support the MetC and MAC Charter bills that deleted MAC and MetC open planning and environmental (and noise) responsibilties?

10/21/2022

We need your feedback as we plan changes, how best to continue our Mission -

Please take a minute to provide feedback. The Board needs your help to recover from 3 years of limited input and virtual meetings. The Council’s expertise has increased, but the on-and-off number of flights has interrupted Metropolititan planning with neighborhoods, State agencies and

05/28/2022

President's Report - *www.smaacmn.org*

Call to political action!

12/02/2020

Open for Nominations - *www.smaacmn.org*

08/09/2018

In a few days, SMAAC organized a candidates forum in MN Congressional Diatrict 5. Our efforts to inform the candidates about our agenda for MSP resulted in supportive statements from the 3 leading candidates. [https://tinyurl.com/yc6rtvek ]

Candidate Survey --In Progress

11/19/2017

Good time to check out www.smaacmn.org. Mayor-elect Frey asked for an update on MSP; Delta PR minimizes the consequences of aircraft hitting birds around MSP -- public info on this from April 2017; MAC still hasn't sent the MSP Long-Term Comprehensive Plan Update to Met Concil -- now 4 years over-due...

10/28/2017

The 2017 Fall Forum is up and running at

Candidate Survey

06/11/2017

Carbon and greenhouse gases are a serious worldwide problem. The Democratic Party is attempting to raise money for their US Senate candidates by denouncing President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate change accords. I hope the connection is more about policy than politics.

Far-future goal compromises offer only the appearance of meaningful action, not requiring any current year measurable reduction of GHG emissions.

At least from our aviation view, most Senators did not act strongly when there were opportunities from 2009 to date. I would like to have had Senate attention more often --such as strong support to implement changes in the National Airspace System after the formal GHG findings by EPA.FAA --in 2014-15.

Before we would believe a Senatorial candidate was truly for reversing the global warming trends, we would ask whether the candidate would vote for changes in NAS routes and schedules managed by the FAA to make air travel a lesser source of GHG, carbon and other pollutants by shortening the average city-hub-city trip and reducing airport congestion.

11/08/2016

I had a very bad, awful, no good day. Instead of campaigning, I prepared a speech to accompany SMAAC's testimony at the MSP airport public hearing on the airport's environmental impact.
I used my Met Transit card, caught the bus to MOA, LRT to the airport, At the security check, someone grabbed my bus card and sunglasses from my tray as I was being double checked,
I spoke to the Hearing Chair, who said the Commissioners were on a schedule and all testimony would be limited to 30 minutes. I was the only speaker, and we had already sent a 3 page statement,
Nevertheless, I was given 5 minutes --but I spoke for 10 or 12 anyway. My point was that a noise mitigation program wouldn't do crap to limit green-house gas emissions or a crash.from overusing runways. No one disagreed.
Later the noise department showed off a video of 3 approach route changes that allowed slightly lower power and reduced source noise. The video said these approaches were used less than 4 times a day (of about 850 arrivals daily.
The draft environmental report basically said nothing about air or water pollution. It didn't mention the FAA Safety Order in effect at MSP or the near-miss that caused FAA to shuffle 200+ departures a day onto lower, slower and more polluting routes.
I went home and took a shower. Jim Spensley