EXH0106017877

PCHBPollution Control Hearings Board of the State of Washington

FROM; Dave Garland,NWRO Water Qua_ e , SUBJECT: Sea-Tac Third Runway Borrow Area 3 Wetland Impacts Recommendations for Wetland Preservation BACKGROUND; This memo constitutes my final review comments on potential wetland impacts from the Port of Seattle proposal to excavatesand and gravel fill material from a borrow pit locatedjust south of Sea- Tac Airport. The borrow pit, known as Borrow Area 3, is proposed to be excavated to provide some of the material needed for the proposed Sea-Tac Third Runway fill embankment. Concern for hydrologic impacts from mining in Borrow Area 3 began when independent hydrologic s'udies conducted for Ecology by Pacific Groundwater Group (PGG,2000) concluded that the pro_::v_ed excavation "would likely have substantial impacts to wetland water flows, and possibly biot:,."(pg. 74) There are three wetlands located in Borrow Area 3 that are over one-half acre in area. und fot,r smaller wetlands less than 0.1 acre. The proposed excavatio:: in Area 3 is designed to n,rrowly avoid these sevenwetlands and excavate sand and vavel to depths slightly lower {10- 20 feeT_than the elevations of the wetlands. Groundwater flow direction near Borrow Area 3 _as uncertain at :'_e time of the PGG report, but now has been determined to be generally from the northwest. Recharge to the wetlands is believed to be partially dependent on water from a perchedwater-bearing zone. The excavation proposal is to remove the perched water-bearing zone and perching horizor, on the north and east of the wetlands, but not to the west. Since the Sea-Tat Runway…
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