Notes

Prefiled testimony of Elizabeth Clark submitted to the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), case No. PCHB 01-160, Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE) v. Department of Ecology and Port of Seattle. Testimony covers fill acceptance process for the Third Runway embankment under 1998 and 1999 Fill Criteria Agreements, the September 21, 2001 Ecology 401 Certification, and May 22, 2001 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Opinion. Discusses specific fill sources including Black River Quarry, Hamm Creek Habitat Restoration Site (Army Corps of Engineers), and WSDOT First Avenue Bridge Project. References S.S. Papadopulus & Associates Third Runway Transport Model, water quality, and MTCA compliance. AR 016275–016277.

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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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