October 5, 2001August 2, 2026

Port Of Seattle’s sur reply memorandum: Airport Communities Coalition v. Department of Ecology and the Port Of Seattle

Notes

The Port of Seattle’s sur reply memorandum responds to the Airport Communities Coalition’s (ACC) motion for stay regarding the amended §401 Certification. The Port argues that no public notice or hearing is required for amendments to an existing §401 Certification, that the amended certification complies with 40 CFR §121.2, and that ACC’s claims about stormwater retrofitting, wetland monitoring, and fill criteria are factually incorrect. The document defends the Stormwater Management Plan’s comprehensive retrofit requirements for Sea-Tac International Airport.

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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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