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A draft settlement agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle regarding the appeal of §401 Certification #1996-4-02325, related to construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The agreement clarifies and revises various conditions of the §401 Certification, including provisions for wetland mitigation, hydrologic monitoring, stormwater management, and long-term operation and maintenance obligations. The parties agreed to jointly request the Pollution Control Hearings Board amend the certification and then dismiss the Port’s 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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