December 13, 1999August 2, 2026

Determining Whether the Washington Department of Ecology Has a Scientifically Adequate Basis to Certify Compliance Under Clean Water Act Section 401 for the Port Of Seattle’s Project

Notes

A letter from Columbia Biological Assessments to the Washington Department of Ecology’s 401 Certification Coordinator, written on behalf of Citizens Against Seatac Expansion (CASE), evaluating whether the Port of Seattle has provided sufficient scientific information to support a Clean Water Act Section 401 certification for its proposed project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The letter concludes that the Port has not provided adequate evidence that its stormwater discharges comply with applicable water quality standards, citing ongoing violations of toxic substances criteria for copper and zinc in Miller and Des Moines Creeks. The author identifies multiple deficiencies in the Port’s monitoring data, quality assurance procedures, and stormwater management plans.

Sidebar On/Off

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.

continue...

V V

Notes

Message