The Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) appealed a federal court decision regarding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' approval of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. At issue was whether the Corps was required to incorporate all water quality conditions set by Washington State's Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) into its Clean Water Act Section 404 permit, including protections against polluted fill and wetland impact mitigation measures. The case, heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, centered on whether the Corps acted unlawfully by selectively excluding key state-mandated environmental safeguards from the construction permit.Open full document
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This is the appellant’s brief filed by Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Case No. 04-35011. The appeal challenges the Army Corps of Engineers’ refusal to incorporate all conditions from Washington State’s Clean Water Act §401 certification into the §404 permit for the Port of Seattle’s Third Runway project. Key issues include the Corps’ exclusion of Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) conditions related to polluted fill and wetland impact mitigation.