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Roger Nye of the Washington State Department of Ecology requests a legal ruling from Assistant Attorney General Kathy Gerla regarding the reinstatement of a full-time prepaid position for Sea-Tac Airport. The memo outlines the history of the prepaid position from 1992 through 1996, including its cancellation due to the absence of a signed Agreed Order, and details the Port of Seattle’s request to reinstate the position. Several legal and procedural concerns are raised, including whether the prepaid position can be used for purposes outside an Agreed Order, whether a new Interagency Agreement is needed, and whether public comment would be required.

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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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