RCAA Truth in Aviation – Fall 2001

The Newsletter of the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs Vol. 7, No. 2 Fall 2001 IN BRIEF On August 10 the state Department of Ecology (DOE) issued a Section 401 water quality certifi- cation for the third runway project. This is the third attempt by the Port to get its 401 approval. This process has been watched with concern by people in the airport communities ever since DOE reassigned the lead analyst, Tom Luster, to “more pressing projects”, hired Port consultants as “inde- pendent” technical reviewers, and “negotiated” the certificate in meetings chaired by a mediator paid for by the Port. (See TIA Summer 2001, p.5.) The Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) has ap- pealed the decision and asked for a stay. The hear- ing on the stay is scheduled for mid-October 2001, but no schedule for the main appeal has been set. The 401 decision is a one-time opportunity for the State to determine whether the third runway meets applicable state aquatic resource regulations. These regulations cover areas such as fill, stormwater discharges, decreased streamflow, groundwater, water quality in the streams, and wetland health. By law, the Port must demonstrate that there is “reasonable assurance” that construc- tion and the third runway itself will not violate State water quality standards. Affidavits from experts in support of ACC’s ap- peal point out that the Port did not even provide the information necessary to decide if applicable water quality standards could be met, much less reasonable assurance that they would be met.…

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Call to order – Roll Call – Quorum Established – Land Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge that our Agency operates in four present-day counties, which are the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people, past and present. This acknowledgement does not take the place of authentic relationships with indigenous communities in our jurisdiction and [...]