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EPA Region 10 letter to the Army Corps of Engineers reviewing the Port of Seattle’s proposal to fill 11.42 acres of wetlands for construction of a third parallel runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. EPA raises concerns about inadequate compensatory mitigation, the proposed South Aviation Support Area wetland fill, and on-site borrow area impacts, recommending the permit be denied as proposed. EPA requests mitigation be located within the Des Moines Creek and Miller Creek watersheds rather than the Green River Valley.

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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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