July 26, 2005 48 pp.

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Approved minutes of the Port Of Seattle Commission special meeting held July 26, 2005 at the International Conference Center, Airport Office Building, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Commissioners Davis, Edwards, Fisken, and Miller present; Molloy absent. Meeting included executive session on legal risk and potential litigation, followed by a policy and staff briefing by Mark Reis, Managing Director Aviation Division, on the Aviation Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and potential project deferrals triggered by Southwest Airlines’ July 28, 2005 announcement of negotiations with King County to relocate service from STIA to Boeing Field. Discussion covered Southwest Airlines market share at STIA, Alaska Air Group response, cost per enplanement (CPE) projections for 2009 ($9.66 in 2005 dollars), debt service coverage, airline Majority In Interest vote requirements, Basic Airline Lease Agreement history, and transportation and noise impact implications.

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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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