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Biological Assessment prepared by Parametrix, Inc. for the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Of Seattle regarding reinitiation and initiation of Section 7 ESA consultation for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan Update Improvements. Covers ESA-listed species managed by USFWS and NMFS including Chinook salmon, bull trout, and essential fish habitat (EFH). Analyzes hydrologic systems including Miller Creek Basin, Miller Creek Estuary, Walker Creek, Des Moines Creek, Des Moines Creek Estuary, and Green River. Includes Auburn Wetland Mitigation Site, Puyallup River Basin Chinook salmon, Green/Duwamish River fish populations, coastal pelagic species fishery, and West Coast groundfish. Administrative Record number AR 044681, project number 556-2912-001(48), June 2000.

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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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