It was kind of like the lamb entering the lion's den.

Sea-Tac Airport manager Mark Reis spoke to members of Citizens against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE) on April 7 to address their concerns about the noise control and other matters associated with the third runway.

During the question-and-answer session, CASE members held nothing back.

One woman said it was "insult to injury" that taxes had to be paid for the Port of Seattle to operate.

Reis assured her that "none of your taxes goes to the airport."

The airport is funded entirely by revenue generated by the airport and that revenue must stay at the airport, according to Port spokesman Perry Cooper. That would include landing fees charged to the airlines and non-aeronautoical revenue such as parking revevue from the garage, concession fees from restaurants and shops and fees from rental car space leasing, Cooper noted.

"Why can't we just put up a sound wall," asked another man at the meeting.

"We don't know the impact of a wall [but it will definitely be considered],"Reis replied.

The topic of a hush house was also brought up. A hush house is a noise-controlled jet testing facility and there are plans to have one covering 55 acres in the an area known as the Des Moines Creek business area, which stretches from South 216th at the post office to about South 200th Street.

One audience member thought the area might be better served by retail and small businesses.

Reis countered that he and other officials didn't really see the market that would make a retail center a sensible option.

One man asked Reis why a third party couldn't be involved in the noise study process, so as to assure that the Port would not simply be acting in their own interests.

Reis said the Federal Aviation Administration is the third party and would quickly bring up anything that didn't seem consistent with what a typical Part 150 study might conclude.

"The FAA was nervous about community concerns, so we wanted to make sure we've re-dotted our I's 10 times and crossed our T's 20 times," Reis said.

He also assured the audience that he had spent most of his career had been in public service and it served nobody's best interest to do anything that intentionally made citizens get the short end of the deal.

"There are a number of ways to make sure no one is cooking the books and no one is interested in doing that," he said.

Earlier, Reis talked about the environmental progress that Sea-Tac Airport has made.

"The Pacific Northwest has the most progressive environmental policy of any region in the country," he said.

For example, he talked about vehicles, such as taxis and rental buses, which are converting to compressed natural gas instead of using regular gas and diesel. Also, electric ground service equipment to haul baggage and other heavy cargo from one tarmac to another are being used as to prevent emissions.

Reis called the airport's recycling program one of the most "aggressive" in the country.

He also wanted to emphasize that the community outreach that the airport has taken was completely voluntary on their part and they were under no obligation to conduct meetings with the public about concerns with the third runway.

"[These] are all discretionary actions on our part...[and] we want to demonstrate that leadership to the entire industry," he said.

One way the public has been engaged is through a Part 150 study, which is a typical study undertaken by national airports in which they study how to improve noise control.

The Port of Seattle is planning to hold public workshops in the next year where Port officials will listen to citizens' concerns about the airport and noise control associated with the third runway, Reis said.