May 11, 2000August 2, 2026

EXH AR017927: Internal Email — Meeting with Mic Dinsmore, Port Of Seattle, Wes Ulman, Puget Sound Regional Council, and Governor re Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway

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Internal email from Raymond Hellwig to Thomas Fitzsimmons, copied to Tom Luster and others at Washington State Department of Ecology, dated May 11, 2000 (AR017927). Describes a meeting arranged by Martha Choe (CTED) for May 16, 2000 between Governor, Mic Dinsmore (Port Of Seattle), and Wes Ulman (Puget Sound Regional Council) regarding the Sea-Tac Airport third runway project. Meeting agenda likely includes Ecology’s timetable for decision-making on the third runway, stormwater management plan, aquatic resource management plan, King County review, temporary SR-509 access road, and the PSRC resolution deadline (found to be a non-issue per Steven Kyle). Hellwig notes Port Of Seattle deliverables have been inadequate and untimely, impacting Ecology’s review; references Highline School District, Maury Island gravel studies, Elizabeth Leavitt, Gerry O’Keefe, and John Savage.

Sidebar On/Off

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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