Second Airport

1980-04-09
Proposal for airport on Eastside pops up again

A 1980 Seattle Times article reports that federal and state officials revived a proposal to build a new small-craft general-aviation airport on the Eastside of King County, with three potential sites identified near Snoqualmie Falls and Fall City. The FAA offered to fund up to 80% of the estimated $4.5 million construction cost, citing growing congestion at Sea-Tac Airport caused by the mixing of small private planes with large commercial jets. South King County residents, long burdened by airport noise and safety concerns, largely welcomed the idea, arguing that Eastside communities benefiting from aviation should share the responsibility for housing general-aviation facilities.

CategoriesFrom The Web, HistoryTagsCity Of Des Moines, Lorraine Hine, Seattle Times, Second Airport

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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