October 21, 2002August 2, 2026

EXH AR015662: Direct Testimony of Ed O’Brien Submitted on Behalf of Ecology — PCHB No. 01-160 (ACC v. Ecology and Port Of Seattle)

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Direct testimony of Ed O’Brien, Environmental Engineer 4 at Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality Program, submitted before the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) in case No. 01-160. Appellants are Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE) vs. State of Washington Department of Ecology and Port Of Seattle. O’Brien describes his 22-year Ecology career and 11 years on stormwater issues, his role developing Ecology’s 2001 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington (Volumes I, III, V), and states the 2001 manual was not in effect during Sea-Tac Third Runway project development, which used the 1998 King County Surface Water Design Manual for stormwater management. Topics include NPDES permits, stormwater BMPs, runoff treatment, hydrologic analysis, flow control design.

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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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