Notes

Declaration of Thomas R. Luster filed in Pollution Control Hearings Board case No. 01-133, Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) v. State of Washington Department of Ecology and Port Of Seattle. Luster, former senior policy and technical expert at Ecology’s Federal Permits Unit (1989–2001), provides expert testimony on CWA Section 401 water quality certification No. 1996-4-02325 and CZMA concurrency statement issued August 10, 2001, related to construction of a Third Runway and related projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Declaration supports ACC’s motion for a stay of the certification; covers Luster’s 12 years at Ecology including sediment management rule, 700+ Section 401 certifications, Nationwide Permits negotiations, and statewide CZMP oversight.

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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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