Notes

The Airport Communities Coalition filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority with the Pollution Control Hearings Board, citing two recent Washington State Supreme Court decisions as relevant to the case. The cited cases address state authority under Section 401 certification, water quality standards enforcement, and the obligation of government officials to act in the public interest. The notice relates to Case No. 01-160 involving the ACC and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion versus the Washington Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle.

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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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