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A letter from Water Resources Consulting L.L.C. to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State Department of Ecology, reviewing water quality and water management aspects of the SeaTac Airport Master Plan Update. The review, requested by the Airport Communities Coalition, identifies serious deficiencies in the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan, including ongoing violations of Washington State Water Quality Standards, inadequate Best Management Practices, and concerns about contaminant transport. The author concludes there is no basis for Clean Water Act Section 401 certification or Section 404 approval.

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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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