March 28, 2001August 2, 2026

AR 026298: Letter from Washington Department of Ecology on Regulatory Status of Prior Converted Croplands

Notes

Letter dated March 28, 2001 from Erik C. Stockdale, Senior Wetlands Specialist, Washington State Department of Ecology (Northwest Regional Office, Bellevue), to Don Scarberry of Novadyne Engineering (Redmond, WA), clarifying the Department of Ecology’s regulatory policy regarding lands classified as ‘prior converted croplands’ by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The letter explains that Ecology regulates prior converted croplands if they meet technical criteria under the 1996 Washington State Wetland Delineation and Identification Manual, adopted pursuant to Engrossed Senate Bill 5776 (1995 Washington State Legislature). The Food Security Act (FSA) excludes such wetlands from Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, but does not apply to state law, meaning wetlands excluded from federal regulation may still be subject to state regulation. AR 026298.

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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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