Notes

Third Declaration of Steven G. Jones, attorney for Respondent Port Of Seattle, filed January 10, 2002 in PCHB No. 01-160 before the Pollution Control Hearings Board for the State of Washington. Declaration concerns discovery dispute between Port Of Seattle and Airport Communities Coalition (ACC): Port’s first set of Interrogatories and Requests for Production served November 9, 2001; ACC’s objections and responses served December 10, 2001; conference call December 12, 2001 with Michael Witek, Kevin Stock (ACC), Roger Pearce, and Gillis Reavis (Port); proposed stipulation transmitted December 14, 2001; ACC’s significantly revised response received January 7, 2002. Jones asserts ACC’s revisions to the stipulation no longer reflected the original agreement on scope of document production relating to experts. Filed at Environmental Hearings Office, AR 005465–005466.

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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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