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The Port of Seattle petitions the Pollution Control Hearings Board to reconsider Condition 8 of its Final Order, which prohibits use of the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) to authorize importation of fill exceeding modified fill criteria. The Port argues that three of the Board’s five concerns regarding SPLP are based on misinterpretation of the record, and that the remaining two concerns can be addressed through additional conditions rather than outright prohibition. The Port contends that prohibiting SPLP, which was integral to formulating fill criteria, makes it practically impossible to find acceptable fill for the Third Runway project and could have far-reaching consequences for other major fill projects statewide.

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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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