The Port of Seattle filed a petition in August 2002 asking the Pollution Control Hearings Board to reconsider Condition 8 of its Final Order, which prohibited the use of a soil-testing method called SPLP (Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure) to approve fill material for the Third Runway expansion project at Sea-Tac Airport. The Port argued that banning SPLP made it nearly impossible to find acceptable fill soil, since up to 78% of naturally occurring, uncontaminated soils would fail the Board's strict numeric criteria when tested across multiple constituents. The Port maintained that proper use of SPLP poses no environmental threat to water quality and requested the Board allow its use under specific conditions so the runway project could proceed.Open full document
Notes
The Port of Seattle petitions the Pollution Control Hearings Board to reconsider Condition 8 of its Final Order dated August 12, 2002, which prohibits use of the Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) to authorize importation of fill exceeding modified fill criteria. The Port argues that three of the Board’s five concerns were based on a mistaken interpretation of the record, and that prohibiting SPLP makes it practically impossible to find acceptable fill for the Third Runway project. The Port requests the Board modify its Final Order to permit SPLP use under specific conditions, arguing this poses no environmental threat to water quality.