October 9, 2001August 2, 2026

EXH AR006473: Declaration of Ray Hellwig in Support of Motion to Strike — PCHB No. 01-160, ACC v. Ecology and Port Of Seattle

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Declaration by Ray Hellwig, Regional Director at the Washington Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office, filed October 9, 2001 in PCHB No. 01-160, Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) v. State of Washington Department of Ecology and Port Of Seattle. Hellwig declares that he inadvertently disclosed to ACC, pursuant to a public disclosure request under RCW 42.17.310(1)(i), an unredacted briefing paper dated 4/3/01 prepared for an Ecology Senior Management Team meeting concerning stormwater and water rights policy related to STIA expansion. The document was logged as withheld due to attorney-client privilege (Exhibit 1) but was intermingled with other disclosure documents and sent without redaction due to a miscommunication with Ecology’s attorneys. Exhibit 2 is a letter from Ecology’s attorneys showing the withheld and redacted version. Motion to Strike seeks return or exclusion of the privileged material quoted in ACC’s pleadings.

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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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