February 5, 2002August 2, 2026

EXH AR027881: Ecology Letter to Port Of Seattle Denying Administrative Order for Lagoon #3 Bypass at STIA

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Letter dated February 5, 2002 from Hamid ‘Ed’ Abbasi, Environmental Engineer, Washington State Department of Ecology (NWRO) to Michael Feldman, Director of Aviation Facilities & Environmental Programs, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Ecology denies the Port Of Seattle’s request for an Administrative Order to bypass the industrial waste treatment system at Lagoon #3 under NPDES Permit WA-002465-1, permit section S5.B(2). Ecology cites inevitable environmental degradation, failure to present cost-effectiveness alternatives and comparative resource damage assessments, and requires the Port to collect samples of overflow events and receiving water to ensure no water quality criteria exceedances.

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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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