The Port of Seattle presented the Equitable Spending and Accountability Project (ESAP) to its Commission in July 2023, outlining a framework to track and report how Port budget spending aligns with equity, diversity, and inclusion goals. A cross-departmental team audited four years of budget data to establish a baseline measure of equity spending, categorized into distinct areas. A 2024 pilot program requires each division to identify equity-related spending in their budgets and report progress annually to Port leadership and the Commission.

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A Commission agenda memorandum briefing the Port of Seattle Commission on the Equitable Spending and Accountability Project (ESAP). The document describes a cross-departmental audit of budget items over four years to measure equity spending, and outlines a proposed 2024 pilot program for tracking and reporting equity-related expenditures at the division and department level.

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As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

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