September 21, 2000August 2, 2026

Preliminary comments (Set 1) on August 2000 Stormwater Management Plan for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan Update Improvements

Notes

Northwest Hydraulic Consultants (nhc), retained by the Airport Communities Coalition, provides preliminary technical review comments on the August 2000 Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) for the proposed third runway at Sea-Tac Airport. The letter highlights numerous deficiencies identified by both nhc and King County reviewers, including unverified facility performance, infeasible mitigation proposals, and inconsistencies that generally under-mitigate stormwater impacts. The authors argue that the review timeline is insufficient for thorough analysis before Ecology’s 401 Certification decision.

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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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