Notes

Direct testimony of Ann Kenny, Environmental Planner 4 at the Washington Department of Ecology, submitted to the Pollution Control Hearings Board in PCHB No. 01-160. Kenny describes her role as the 401 Certification Reviewer for the Port of Seattle’s Sea-Tac International Airport Master Plan Update Improvements, including her involvement in drafting the Clean Water Act Section 401 Certifications and Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency Concurrence statements issued in 2001. The testimony outlines the history of the Port’s Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Applications and the extensive consultations with technical experts across multiple agencies.

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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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