TagACC(1548)

A May 1999 email exchange between Washington State Department of Ecology staff discusses wetland mitigation challenges near an airport flight path, referencing a similar case in Petaluma, California where seasonal wetlands were allowed to remain near a municipal airport under strict conditions. The staff propose a framework involving monitoring for hazardous bird activity, defined management options, and contingency plans for replacement wetland sites if the existing mitigation proves unsafe. The emails emphasize that while the goal is to find creative regulatory solutions to approve the project under Section 401, denial remains a possibility if adequate safeguards cannot be agreed upon.

These handwritten meeting notes dated 5/10/99 document a discussion among water quality staff including Kevin Fitzpatrick and Gary Bailey regarding permit standards and guidance. Topics covered include updating water quality standards to 'use-based' classifications, finalizing antidegradation rules, and establishing sampling protocols such as requiring at least 5 days of sampling during critical low-flow conditions. The notes also address mixing zone limits, AKART conditions for permit outfalls, and revisions to the permit writer's manual expected by June or July.

In April–May 1999, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (NWS) staff exchanged emails debating whether to use a Port of Seattle Third Runway construction site as a disposal area for roughly 60,000 cubic yards of excavated material from the Duwamish River Turn Basin #3 habitat restoration project. Officials weighed whether this arrangement could compromise the Corps' impartiality in its pending permit decision for the Third Runway Project, ultimately concluding it would not, since disposal would occur on upland areas outside Corps jurisdiction and King County bore responsibility for finding a disposal site. The collaboration was seen as potentially saving the habitat restoration project up to $200,000 in disposal costs.

This 1999 plan, prepared jointly by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle, outlines how the public will be involved in a ground water study at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The study was prompted by decades of jet fuel and petroleum product releases from underground storage tanks and fuel systems in the Airport's Aircraft Operations and Maintenance Area, which contaminated soil and ground water across 13 known sites. The plan describes required and additional public participation activities, community outreach roles, and the two-phase study approach, which included computer modeling of ground water flow to assess contamination risks to public water supplies and surface water.

Agreed Order #97TC-N122 issued by Washington State Department of Ecology under RCW 70.105D.050(1) directed to Port Of Seattle regarding hazardous substance contamination at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (STIA). Documents thirteen contaminated sites within the Aircraft Operations and Maintenance Area (AOMA), a 1/2 square-mile area in the southeast quadrant of the airport, contaminated with jet fuel, gasoline,

Washington State Department of Ecology Agreed Order #97TC-N122 issued to Port Of Seattle for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (STIA), pursuant to RCW 70.105D.050(1). Documents hazardous substance releases within the Aircraft Operations and Maintenance Area (AOMA), a half-square-mile southeast quadrant of STIA operational since 1944. Contaminants identified include jet fuel (most abundant by bulk volume), gasoline, industrial

A April 30, 1999 memo documents a meeting between Corps of Engineers staff and Port of Seattle officials to discuss using land near Sea-Tac Airport's proposed 3rd runway as a disposal site for approximately 60,000 cubic yards of material from the Corps' Turn Basin #3 project. Key logistics covered included hauling up to 1,000 cubic yards per day starting in late July 1999 using no more than six trucks, with no fees charged for dumping on Port property. Outstanding questions included whether the Corps' Regulatory Branch — which was simultaneously reviewing a permit for the 3rd runway — might have conflicts of interest in using that same site, and what formal agreement would be needed between the two agencies.

Email chain dated April 30, 1999 from Ronald Lavigne (ATG) and Ann Kenny to Washington State Department of Ecology staff including Sandra Manning, Kevin Fitzpatrick, and others, raising legal concerns about agreements reached at a Wednesday meeting regarding 401 certification and 402 permit policy. Lavigne raises issues including: the state’s one-year waiver deadline for 401

A 1999 internal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers email discusses plans to dispose of approximately 60,000 cubic yards of excavated material from a Duwamish River habitat restoration project (Turn Basin #3) at a Port of Seattle site designated for the proposed Third Runway. The email raises concerns about whether this collaboration with the Port could compromise the Corps' ability to issue an impartial permit decision for the Third Runway project, while noting the arrangement could save the restoration project around $200,000 in disposal costs.

Privileged and confidential chronological timeline prepared by ACC (Airport Communities Coalition) dated April 30, 1999, documenting the Section 401 water quality certification and Section 404 wetlands fill permit process related to the Port of Seattle Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway expansion project. Covers December 1997 through projected year 2000, including Port’s JARPA submission to Army Corps