Notes

Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) motion in limine filed with the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB No. 01-160) against State of Washington Department of Ecology and Port Of Seattle, seeking exclusion of plans and reports produced after the February 1, 2002 deadline set in the October 30, 2001 Prehearing Order. Motion specifically targets Ecology Exhibit 13203 (embankment fill modeling report by Port consultant Michael Riley) and Ecology Exhibit 2055 (Port Technical Memorandum on wetlands dated January 21, 2002, submitted to Army Corps of Engineers January 25, 2002, obtained by ACC via federal FOIA on March 7, 2002). Argues respondents violated §401 Certification prehearing disclosure requirements. Filed by Helsell Fetterman LLP and Rachael Paschal Osborn.

Sidebar On/Off

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.

continue...

V V

Notes

Message