October 23, 2002August 2, 2026

EXH AR037425: Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of the Army and the Environmental Protection Agency Concerning the Determination of Mitigation Under the Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines

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Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the U.S. Department of the Army and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) articulating policy and procedures for determining type and level of mitigation required under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines. AR037425. Covers three mitigation types: avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation; establishes no net loss of wetlands goal; addresses standard permits (33 CFR 325(b)(1)), Section 230.10(a), Section 230.10(d), mitigation banking, special aquatic sites, compensatory mitigation sequencing, on-site and off-site mitigation, and CEQ regulations at 40 CFR 1508.20. Discusses Corps of Engineers Section 404 regulatory program, Special Area Management Plans, Advanced Identification areas (Section 230.80), State Coastal Zone Management Plans, and preapplication meetings.

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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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