TagPuget Sound Regional Council(191)

The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) held an Executive Board Meeting on April 25, 1996, at the Olympic Room, Seattle Center, beginning at 9:00 A.M. A key agenda item was a communications packet regarding an Expert Arbitration Panel's decision on airport noise and demand/system management issues, with follow-up action on noise also listed under New Business. The meeting covered additional regional transportation matters, including certification of local comprehensive plan transportation elements and amendments to the 1996–98 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

The Expert Arbitration Panel on Noise and Demand/System Management Issues issued its final decision on noise issues related to Resolution A-93-03, which set noise reduction conditions for PSRC authorization of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. A majority of the Panel found that the Port of Seattle had not demonstrated a sufficient reduction in

In March 1996, an independent expert panel concluded by a 2-1 vote that the Port of Seattle had not done enough to reduce real-world noise impacts from Sea-Tac Airport to meet the conditions set by the Puget Sound Regional Council for approving a third runway. While the panel acknowledged the Port's extensive noise abatement programs, the majority found they fell short of the meaningful reductions required under Resolution A-93-03. The panel also determined that neither demand management improvements nor alternative transportation options, such as rail, would sufficiently reduce air travel demand to eliminate the need for the additional runway.

This document compares a 1996 Expert Arbitration Panel's findings on aircraft noise at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with the FAA's 2013-2018 Part 150 Noise Compatibility Program approval, revealing that many of the same unresolved noise abatement and mitigation issues identified decades ago remain unaddressed today. Communities surrounding Sea-Tac — including Burien, Normandy Park, and Des Moines — continue to experience increasing noise and air pollution as flight operations have grown from 387,000 in 1995 to over 438,000 in 2018. The document calls out regulators and the Port of Seattle for failing to make meaningful progress on commitments such as nighttime flight restrictions, engine run-up controls, and departure corridor compliance.

In March 1996, an Expert Arbitration Panel appointed by Washington State concluded that Seattle's Port had not sufficiently reduced real on-the-ground noise impacts around Sea-Tac International Airport to meet the conditions required by Puget Sound Regional Council Resolution A-93-03 for approving a third runway. The Panel majority found that, despite an extensive array of noise abatement and mitigation programs, measurable noise reductions for surrounding communities were inadequate. One panel member dissented, arguing the Port had met the Resolution's requirements.

This archival record (Box No. 01427) contains masters of public comments submitted between March 28 and July 11, 1996, regarding the Expert Panel Noise Decision and Master Transportation Plan (MTP) amendment, along with accompanying copies designated as Box #2. The record was prepared by Doris Dungan on July 26, 2005, under the AIR department code, and is stored offsite with a permanent 'Keep' retention status.