January 8, 2002August 2, 2026

Petition for review of agency action: Airport Communities Coalition and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion v. State of Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board

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A petition filed in the Superior Court of Washington for Thurston County by Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE) seeking judicial review of three Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) decisions. The decisions at issue include a Stay Order granting a motion to stay the effectiveness of a Section 401 Certification, an Order on Motion to Strike removing documents containing Ecology admissions about water rights, and an Order denying ACC’s motion to supplement the stay record with additional Ecology staff admissions. The petition names the PCHB, Washington State Department of Ecology, and Port of Seattle as respondents.

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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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