TagACC(1531)

Final meeting notes from July 24, 2001 conference call on 401 Permit Decision-Making for Sea-Tac International Airport Third Runway, Low Flow Analysis. Prepared by Kate Snider, Floyd & Snider Inc. Attendees included Ann Kenny (Dept. of Ecology), Kelly Whiting (King County), Keith Smith (Port of Seattle), Paul Fendt (Parametrix), Joe Brascher (Aquaterra). Discusses Port of

Hart Crowser report (project 4978-44) prepared for HNTB documenting installation and verification results for Work Area 2 stone column test areas at the Third Runway Embankment Phase 4, SeaTac, Washington. Authored by Barry S. Chen, Ph.D., P.E. (Senior Associate Geotechnical Engineer) and John P. Laplante (Senior Staff Geotechnical Engineer). Report covers four test areas with

Port of Seattle letter dated July 23, 2001 to Ann E. Kenny, Washington State Department of Ecology, Northwest Regional Office, summarizing low streamflow impact analysis and flow impact offset facility proposal for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan Update projects. Prepared by Parametrix, Inc. Analysis covers summer low streamflow impacts to Des Moines Creek, Miller Creek,

In a July 2001 letter to the Washington State Department of Ecology, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants raised concerns on behalf of the Airport Community Coalition that the Port of Seattle's ongoing low streamflow analyses for Des Moines, Walker, and Miller Creeks near Sea-Tac Airport were likely underestimating the airport's impact on local waterways. The consultants argued that the models were poorly calibrated for upper-basin conditions and failed to account for post-1994 improvements to the Industrial Wastewater System or the future loss of forested areas due to planned airport development. They requested that a final report on the streamflow analysis and any proposed mitigation measures be made available for public comment before Ecology used it to make its 401 Certification decision.

Letter dated July 23, 2001 from Port Of Seattle to Ann E. Kenny at Washington State Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office regarding Low Streamflow Analysis and Summer Low Flow Impact Offset Facility Proposal for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Covers summer low streamflow impacts in Des Moines Creek, Miller Creek, and Walker Creek from airport Master

Parametrix, Inc. report prepared for Port Of Seattle assessing the existing (1994) and future (2006) hydrologic divide of Miller Creek, Walker Creek, and Des Moines Creek following Master Plan Update (MPU) construction at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (STIA). Analyzes compliance with Governor’s Certification requirement that the third runway project will not cause changes in the location

Email chain (AR018498–AR018499) dated July 19, 2001, from Erik Stockdale (likely Washington State Department of Ecology) to Joan Marchioro (ATG) and Andy McMillan, forwarding a message from Jim Kelley of Parametrix, Inc. The judge ruled in favor of Port Of Seattle in the Parcel 92 condemnation case, finding that prior converted croplands were wetlands under

A water resources consultant raised concerns in a July 2001 letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State Department of Ecology about the Port of Seattle's stormwater management plans for Sea-Tac Airport expansion. The letter challenged the effectiveness of proposed biofiltration swales, noting they can actually increase bacterial levels rather than reduce them, and warned that releasing stored stormwater from detention vaults into nearby Class AA streams could discharge pollutant-laden, oxygen-depleted water into already stressed waterways. The consultant concluded that the Port's plans fell short of providing reasonable assurance that water quality standards would be met.

A July 18, 2001 letter from Helsell Fetterman law firm to the Washington State Department of Ecology complains that the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC), representing over 150,000 residents near Sea-Tac Airport, had not received any Public Disclosure Act documents from Ecology's Northwest Regional Office for over a month during the critical review of the Sea-Tac Third Runway project. The letter specifically highlights that a key contaminants pathways analysis dated June 19, 2001 was withheld for weeks, preventing ACC's independent scientific experts from providing timely comments on potential environmental and contamination risks. The attorneys urge Ecology to halt issuing a Section 401 water quality certification decision until the document disclosure cutoff is reversed and ACC's scientists have had a fair opportunity to review and respond to the Port's latest submissions.

Memo dated July 18, 2001 from Tom Fitzsimmons, Director, Washington State Department of Ecology, to Governor Gary Locke regarding the status of the 401 Water Quality Certification decision for the Port Of Seattle proposed Third Runway and associated projects. Ecology is awaiting final technical information from Port consultants on stream low-flow mitigation requirements, expected by