March 7, 2002August 2, 2026

PCHB Doc 01-160: Direct Testimony of Katie Walter on Behalf of Ecology — Port Of Seattle Third Runway Natural Resources Mitigation Plan Review

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Direct testimony of Katie Walter, senior principal wetland scientist at Shannon & Wilson, Inc., submitted on behalf of the Washington State Department of Ecology in PCHB No. 01-160. Appellants are Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE); respondents are Ecology and Port Of Seattle. Walter reviews the Port’s Natural Resources Mitigation Plan (NRMP) for the Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway and Master Plan Update, addressing 2:1 wetland mitigation ratio, no net loss of wetland functions, in-basin mitigation in Miller Creek, Walker Creek, and Des Moines Creek, salmon habitat restoration, 65-acre out-of-basin mitigation site in Auburn for wildlife habitat, and adequacy of wetland functional assessment methodologies including WAFAM, WET, SAM, and HGM. The testimony supports the 401 Certification permit conditions developed with Ecology staff.

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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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