TagThird Runway(1092)

A 1993 confidential legal memorandum from law firm Cutler & Stanfield to the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) outlines strategies for opposing the planned third runway expansion at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The memo recommends that the ACC Cities prioritize preventing new runway construction as their primary goal, with secondary goals focused on reducing noise impacts, limiting night flights, and improving mitigation for affected residents. The overarching strategy was to build enough political and legal leverage so that airport expansion decisions could not practically move forward without the ACC Cities' participation.

This April 1993 confidential legal report, prepared by law firm Cutler & Stanfield for the Airport Communities Coalition, examines the legal issues surrounding the proposed expansion of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, including the construction of a third runway. It reviews the powers and responsibilities of key governmental entities — including the FAA, the Port of Seattle, the Puget Sound Regional Council, and surrounding cities — in relation to airport planning, noise abatement, and environmental impacts. The report also assesses geographic and environmental conditions in the SEA area, covering noise-sensitive locations, wetlands, air quality, and other factors relevant to community opposition to the expansion.

The Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) was a coalition of cities and citizen groups in the Puget Sound region that opposed the proposed third dependent runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the early 1990s. The organization compiled expert research and white papers covering noise impacts, public health effects, environmental and social consequences, and economic costs associated with airport expansion. Their goal was to identify financially feasible and environmentally responsible alternatives to meet the region's air capacity needs without further expanding Sea-Tac.

In a November 1992 letter to the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region manager, the President of the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs urges the federal government to defer funding and detailed planning for a proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). The letter argues that the Puget Sound Regional Council's ongoing regional airport system planning process must be allowed to fully evaluate all alternatives before any single project receives federal financial commitment. The author warns that proceeding prematurely with site-specific plans and an Environmental Impact Statement risks wasting federal money if the regional plan ultimately selects an alternative other than a third runway at Sea-Tac.

Office of the Hearing Examiner, Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Findings, Conclusions, and Decision on City of Federal Way appeal (filed November 6, 1992) challenging adequacy of the Flight Plan Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued by PSRC as nominal lead agency and Port of Seattle as co-lead agency. Appeal challenges FEIS adequacy in

Resolution No. 3125, adopted by the Port of Seattle Commission in 1992, authorizes planning and environmental studies for the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) to address growing air traffic demand and capacity limitations, particularly during poor weather conditions. The resolution follows a two-year study by the Puget Sound Air Transportation Committee (PSATC), which recommended a phased multiple-airport system, including a new dependent runway at Sea-Tac by 2000. The Port also called for broader regional solutions, including a fast rail link between Portland and Vancouver airports and diversion of cargo-only carriers to alternative airport sites.

A 1992 pamphlet published by the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) warns that the Port of Seattle's expansion plan for Sea-Tac Airport — including the addition of a third runway — poses serious health risks to surrounding communities. Citing studies reviewed by physicians at Highline Community Hospital, the brochure links increased airport activity to higher rates of birth defects, cardiovascular disease, mental illness, and dangerous levels of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, benzene, and lead. The document concludes that when health and community costs are fully considered, Sea-Tac expansion may be neither financially feasible nor ethically justifiable.

A 1992 report from the Health Subcommittee of the Regional Coalition on Airport Affairs argues that noise from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport poses serious health risks to nearby residents, including increased rates of psychiatric illness, sleep disruption, hypertension, and adverse birth outcomes. The report also cites 1992 measurements showing classroom noise levels exceeding 85 decibels in Highline School District schools, linking airport noise to declining standardized test scores. The authors conclude that expansion of Sea-Tac Airport would significantly worsen these documented public health impacts.