TagThird Runway(1067)

JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application) and Section 404 application submitted by Port Of Seattle to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Jack Kennedy, Seattle District Office) in December 1996, prepared by Parametrix, Inc. Requests authorization to place fill material into waters of the United States at Sea-Tac Airport associated with the Master Plan Update

A Normandy Park resident and aerospace engineering manager submitted detailed comments in November 1996 criticizing a draft impact study related to Sea-Tac Airport's proposed Third Runway, arguing that the analysis underestimated real estate value losses, air pollution risks, and traffic disruptions caused by the project. The letter contends that home values in Normandy Park stagnated or declined after the Third Runway was publicly announced, and that any valid property value assessment must use baseline figures from before negative publicity began. The author also challenges the study's air quality modeling assumptions and traffic analysis, warning that the Port of Seattle would selectively cite favorable findings while ignoring methodological flaws.

HNTB-prepared Final Draft Phase I study (November 1996) for Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway fill material alternative delivery methods. Evaluates transport corridors including Corridor 1 (Des Moines Creek barge transfer and land conveyor), Corridor 2 (SR 509 conveyor, truck, rail), and Corridor 3 (SR 518 conveyor, truck, rail). Covers technical viability, construction/environmental permitting (local, state, federal),

A 1996 City of Burien memorandum outlines preliminary findings from a regional study on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of Sea-Tac Airport's proposed expansion and third runway. Estimated mitigation costs for five South King County cities totaled $3.05 billion over twenty years, with Burien alone facing roughly $800 million in costs and over $190 million in single-family property value losses by 2020. The study argues that because the airport's benefits are spread across the broader Puget Sound region while its costs—including noise, traffic, and a reduced tax base—fall disproportionately on a handful of nearby communities, targeted mitigation funding is both an equity issue and a necessity.

This 1996 Memorandum of Agreement establishes a 24-month air quality monitoring program near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, involving the Port of Seattle, FAA, EPA, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency. The program, funded at $195,000, focuses on measuring carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and aircraft fuel particle residue to establish baseline air quality data and evaluate potential pollution impacts from planned airport expansion projects. The Port agreed not to proceed with expansion elements projected to cause carbon monoxide standard violations until monitoring is complete and, if necessary, mitigation measures are identified.

A 1996 Memorandum of Agreement between the Port of Seattle, FAA, EPA, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency established a 24-month air quality monitoring program near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The $195,000 program was designed to measure carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and aircraft fuel particle residue in order to establish baseline pollution data and assess the accuracy of earlier 'worst case' air quality models from the airport's Final Environmental Impact Statement. The Port agreed not to proceed with Master Plan expansion projects projected to cause CO standard exceedances until monitoring was complete and, if necessary, appropriate mitigation measures were identified.

In August 1996, community groups CASE and RCAA formally appealed the Port of Seattle's Resolution No. 3212, which approved construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The appeal argued that newer navigation technologies such as Localizer Directional Aid (LDA) and GPS, combined with demand management strategies, could provide equivalent airport capacity at far lower cost and with less environmental harm. The groups requested a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate these technology-based alternatives and reconsider the third runway decision.

A 1996 Seattle Times article details the massive earth-moving challenge facing Sea-Tac Airport's planned third runway, which required importing approximately 14.25 million cubic yards of fill dirt at an estimated cost of $120 million to level a corridor of dips and valleys as deep as 145 feet. Port of Seattle planners were exploring multiple options for sourcing and transporting the dirt, including conveyor belts, barges, and rail spurs, while facing legal opposition from nearby cities who argued the project understated environmental and community harm.

Resolution A-96-02 adopted by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) General Assembly on July 11, 1996, amending the 1995 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) to include plans for a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with additional noise reduction measures. References Resolution A-93-03, Expert Arbitration Panel on Demand/System Management and Noise,