In April 2003, the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) submitted formal comments criticizing a proposed water pollution permit renewal for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, arguing that it failed to adequately protect local waterways from airport runoff and industrial wastewater. Key concerns included excessive delays in enforcing limits on harmful chemicals from aircraft de-icing operations, insufficient monitoring of stormwater containing copper and zinc harmful to fish, and a compliance schedule for wastewater treatment that stretched years beyond what regulators considered acceptable. The RCAA urged the Washington Department of Ecology to strengthen the permit's requirements and accelerate deadlines for bringing the airport into compliance with water quality standards.Open full document
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The Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) submitted formal comments on the draft renewed NPDES permit for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The comments address three permit sections covering industrial wastewater, non-construction stormwater runoff, and construction stormwater discharge, raising concerns about inadequate treatment of contaminated stormwater, delayed compliance schedules for AKART implementation, insufficient monitoring requirements, and the impacts of deicing chemicals on water quality. RCAA urges Ecology to strengthen effluent limits, accelerate compliance timelines, and expand the receiving water study to include Des Moines Creek.