April 9, 1998August 2, 2026

EXH AR041625: Letter from USDA Wildlife Services to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regarding Wetland Mitigation at Sea-Tac Airport

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April 9, 1998 letter from Gary Oldenburg, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services State Director for WA/AK/HI/Pacific Islands, to Jonathan Friedman, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District, regarding wildlife hazards at Sea-Tac Airport. Argues that wetland mitigation measures at SeaTac Airport should be conducted off-site, citing FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-33 (Hazardous Wildlife Attractants On or Near Airports) and the 10,000-foot separation requirement between wildlife attractants and aircraft movement areas. References Animal Damage Control Act of 1931 (7 U.S.C. 426-426c), CFR Part 139.337, the 1995 Elmondorf Air Force Base Canada geese AWACS Boeing 707 fatal crash, and the Memorandum of Understanding between FAA and USDA. Enclosures include Advisory Circular 150/5200-33, FAA-USDA MOU, and Pilots Association statement before U.S. House Subcommittee on Aviation.

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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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