September 12, 2002August 2, 2026

Airport Communities Coalition’s and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion’s petition for judicial review of final order of Pollution Control Hearings Board

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Petitioners Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE) filed this petition in Thurston County Superior Court seeking judicial review of the Pollution Control Hearings Board’s August 12, 2002 order conditionally affirming the Department of Ecology’s Clean Water Act § 401 water quality certification to the Port of Seattle for its Master Plan Update projects at Sea-Tac Airport. The petition challenges the certification for the proposed third runway project, which would fill a wooded canyon containing Miller Creek with over 20 million cubic yards of fill. The petitioners argue the project fails to meet water quality standards, including anti-degradation requirements protecting Class AA state waters.

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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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