January 21, 2001August 2, 2026

EXH AR049825: Ecology Letter to Senator Julia Patterson on Sea-Tac Airport Expansion Section 401 Water Quality Certification Review

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Letter dated January 21, 2001 from Tom Luster, Washington State Department of Ecology, to Senator Julia Patterson of the Washington State Senate, responding to her request for information on Ecology’s Section 401 Clean Water Act review of the proposed SeaTac Airport expansion. Luster provides a brief assessment of key issues including antidegradation requirements, beneficial uses, water quality criteria, stormwater plans, streamflow augmentation, wetland impacts and mitigation, and clean fill material standards. Luster notes he was taken off the project in October and recommends contacting Ann Kenny at Ecology’s Northwest Regional Office (425-649-4310). Copied to Tom Fitzsimmons, Bill Alkire, Gordon White, Ray Hellwig, Paula Ehlers, and Ann Kenny. AR049825–AR049827.

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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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