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Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) case 01-160 order dated March 19, 2002, denying Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) Motion In Limine to Exclude Late-Produced Plans and Reports. Presided by Kaleen Cottingham; parties represented by Kevin Stock and Michael Witek (ACC), Rick Poulin (CASE), Gillis Reavis (Port Of Seattle), and Jeff Kray (Ecology). Board ruled that the 17 items identified by ACC were not prepared pursuant to the §401 certification and thus could not be excluded under the pre-hearing order’s tight timelines for production of plans and reports under Clean Water Act §401 certification conditions.

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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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