Notes

Declaration by Ray Hellwig, Regional Director at the Washington Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office, submitted in the case Airport Communities Coalition v. State of Washington Department of Ecology and Port of Seattle (PCHB No. 01-160). Hellwig attests to receiving a transcribed voicemail message from Tom Luster on or about September 17, 2001, and states he did not respond to the message. The attached exhibit contains the transcribed voicemail in which Luster informs Hellwig of his involvement with the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) in writing a declaration related to the 401 regulatory requirements for their appeal.

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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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