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EXH AR024767: Water Quality Talking Points — Copper, Third Runway 401 Certification

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Sea-Tac Airport
Third Runway
PCHB
Box 10

A 1998 fax from Parametrix, Inc. to the Port of Seattle discusses water quality concerns related to copper in stormwater runoff at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The document outlines that while standard Best Management Practices (BMPs) can remove most metals from stormwater, copper remains a persistent challenge due to its widespread presence from sources like automobile brakes and rooftops. It raises questions about compliance requirements, the cost of installing sand or compost filters (potentially up to $100 million), and how the Port and Washington State Department of Ecology can reach a workable agreement on stormwater discharge standards.

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Notes

Fax transmission from Parametrix, Inc. (sent by Paul Fenot, Kirkland WA) to Barbara Hinkle at Port of Seattle, dated October 27, 1998, transmitting Water Quality Talking Points on copper in stormwater runoff related to Sea-Tac Airport third runway 401 certification negotiations. Document AR024767-AR024769 covers: reasonable potential analysis for BMP effectiveness in removing metals from stormwater; copper ubiquity in developed/urbanized area runoff from automobile brakes and rooftops; 401 certification requirement for one of 8 BMP treatment trains with sand filter or compost filter; Port of Seattle storm water runoff quality compared to residential and industrial sources; NPDES permit compliance; AKART analysis estimating copper treatment at $1 million per 15 acres, extrapolating to $100 million for 1,500 acres of airport; sand filters not shown to effectively remove copper; compost filters unproven at large scale; points of compliance (end of pipe vs. mixing zone); Washington State Department of Ecology compliance schedules; Clean Water Act; stormwater discharge standards.

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