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The Washington State Department of Ecology responds to the Airport Communities Coalition’s motion for summary judgment, arguing that a water right is not necessary for Ecology to have reasonable assurance that water quality standards will be met. Ecology contends that the conditions in the Clean Water Act § 401 Certification already provide sufficient assurance, and that the Port of Seattle’s stormwater management and low flow mitigation plans do not constitute a beneficial use of water requiring a water right. The document addresses impacts to Miller, Walker, and Des Moines Creeks from the Port’s third runway project.

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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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