TagRASP(13)

The Puget Sound Regional Council adopted resolutions in 1993 and 1996 establishing the region's long-term commercial air transportation policy, concluding that a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) should be pursued alongside additional noise reduction measures. The council determined that small supplemental airports, including Paine Field, would not serve as alternatives for meeting regional commercial air capacity needs. These decisions were incorporated into the 1995 Metropolitan Transportation Plan and are maintained in the Destination 2030 regional transportation framework.

The 2001 Regional Airport System Plan, published by the Puget Sound Regional Council in August 2001, is a comprehensive planning document for airports across the Central Puget Sound Region and serves as a modal component of the long-range transportation plan known as Destination 2030. Prepared with input from a Regional Airport System Plan Advisory Committee and partially funded through a Federal Aviation Administration planning grant, the plan addresses aviation infrastructure, capacity, and noise considerations for the region. It covers policy and development guidance for airports in the greater Seattle–Tacoma area, though its contents do not necessarily reflect official FAA policy or commitments.

This document summarizes the Puget Sound Regional Council’s planning process for amending the Metropolitan Transportation Plan to include a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. It covers the history of regional aviation planning from the 1988 Regional Airport System Plan through the Flight Plan Project, Sea-Tac Master Plan, and Expert Arbitration Panel findings on noise

In April 1993, the Puget Sound Regional Council adopted Resolution A-93-03, amending its 1988 Regional Airport System Plan to address long-term commercial air transportation needs in the central Puget Sound region. The resolution established a preferred strategy of pursuing both a major supplemental airport within the four-county area and a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport, with the third runway to be authorized by April 1, 1996 subject to conditions including noise reduction performance objectives and demand management efforts. The resolution also eliminated small supplemental airports such as Paine Field as a preferred alternative and called for site-specific environmental impact studies on the proposed Sea-Tac third runway.

In April 1993, the Puget Sound Regional Council adopted Resolution A-93-03, amending its Regional Airport System Plan to address long-term commercial air transportation needs for the central Puget Sound region. The resolution established a dual-track strategy of pursuing both a major supplemental airport within the four-county area and a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport, with the third runway to be authorized by April 1, 1996 unless a viable supplemental site could eliminate that need. Key conditions attached to the third runway approval included independent evaluation of demand management programs and measurable noise reduction performance objectives, while small supplemental airports such as Paine Field were eliminated as preferred alternatives.

This 1987 Draft Environmental Impact Statement from the Puget Sound Council of Governments evaluates alternatives for expanding the regional airport system in the Puget Sound area through the year 2020. The study found that all alternatives would generate significant impacts to both natural and human environments, including noise and land-use concerns, with the key distinction being whether those impacts would be concentrated at existing airport sites or spread across new locations. No single alternative was found to be clearly superior, and the report called for extensive mitigation measures and further site-specific analysis to guide final decision-making.