A 2004 newsletter from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) reports that community opposition to Sea-Tac Airport's proposed third runway remained strong even after city-funded legal challenges were dropped due to budget shortfalls. The project, whose cost estimates had ballooned from an original $229 million to $1.3 billion, faced a $700 million funding gap, with neither tenant airlines nor the FAA willing to cover their usual shares. Critics argued the runway was being built in the wrong place—over wetlands and salmon-bearing streams—driving up costs and causing significant environmental harm.Open full document
Notes
This newsletter from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) covers citizen opposition to the Sea-Tac Airport third runway project following the withdrawal of the last city-funded legal challenges on August 17, 2004. It details the financial difficulties facing the project, including a $700 million funding shortfall and cost estimates that ballooned from $229 million to $1.3 billion. The newsletter also explains why the runway is considered environmentally problematic and financially unviable, citing its construction in wetlands and the Port of Seattle’s growing debt.