TagACC(1531)

In this April 11, 2001 letter, Washington State Department of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons responds to attorney Kevin Stock regarding concerns raised by the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) about the Port of Seattle's proposed Third Runway. Ecology agrees to host a technical meeting with ACC experts to examine whether Third Runway infrastructure could create pathways for contaminants from the Airport Operations and Maintenance Area (AOMA) to proposed runway sites, but declines to halt the 401 water quality certification process pending completion of a separate groundwater study. Ecology assures the ACC that it will not approve or deny the Third Runway projects until a 'pathway' analysis addressing contamination concerns is completed.

Revised draft meeting notes from April 9, 2001 technical meeting on 401 Permit Decision-Making for Sea-Tac International Airport Third Runway, prepared by Rachel McCrea of Floyd & Snider Inc. Attendees included John Drabek and Ann Kenny (Dept. of Ecology), Keith Smith (Port of Seattle), Kelly Whiting (King County), Alan Black (HNTB), Paul Fendt and Tom

A 2001 internal email from King County staff puts stormwater storage volumes for the Third Runway project (3RW) into everyday perspective. It compares proposed retention ponds and vaults to familiar landmarks: Pond D would hold the equivalent of over 12 Olympic-size swimming pools, and the largest vault considered (88 acre-feet) would cover a football field with 80 feet of water—roughly an 8-story building. The email also notes that 0.1 cubic feet per second of water flow is equivalent to about five garden hoses running at full pressure.

Parametrix, Inc. wetland functional analysis forms prepared for the Port Of Seattle Master Plan Update, documenting wetland attributes for wetlands A6-A7-A8 and A12-A13-A18, dated 4/5/01, investigator W.K./Mil. Records presence/absence of wetland attributes including vegetation classes (Cowardin), forested wetland coverage (80%, 30%), impervious surface (>60% urban/runway), buffer conditions, seasonal ponding, emergent vegetation, seeps and springs, flooding

Final draft meeting notes prepared by Rachel McCrea of Floyd & Snider Inc. from a April 4, 2001 technical meeting on low streamflow impact analysis for the Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway 401 Permit Decision-Making process. Attendees included representatives from Washington Dept. of Ecology (Ann Kenny, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Dave Garland), King County (Kelly Whiting), EarthTech (Rick

This 2001 draft report by Parametrix, Inc. describes a water quality study conducted for the Port of Seattle to assess the feasibility of meeting state water quality standards following construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The study focused on developing a site-specific water-effect ratio (WER) for copper in Miller, Walker, and Des Moines Creeks by conducting toxicity bioassays on stormwater samples collected during storm events. The report summarizes results from initial screening and range-finding phases, with the final site-specific water quality standard still pending completion at the time of publication.

Port of Seattle Final SEPA Determination of Non-Significance (DNS), POS SEPA No. 01-08, dated March 30, 2001, for the Alaska Airlines Maintenance Facility Expansion at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, north of South 188th Street and west of 28th Avenue South. The proposed project expands and remodels existing Alaska Airlines maintenance facilities including offices, repair shops, parts storage,

In this March 30, 2001 letter, attorney Kevin L. Stock of Helsell Fetterman writes to Washington State Department of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition, confirming agreements reached at a March 27 meeting regarding Sea-Tac Airport expansion. The letter asserts that Ecology's 1999 Agreed Order with the Port of Seattle must be fulfilled before a Section 401 water quality certification can legally be issued, and confirms Ecology's commitment to hold a follow-up technical meeting with key staff and legislators present. The ACC argues that strong scientific and legal grounds preclude issuing a defensible 401 certification until the Port completes its obligations under the Agreed Order.

A March 28, 2001 letter from the Washington State Department of Ecology clarifies that lands classified as 'prior converted croplands' by the US Army Corps of Engineers are still subject to state wetland regulations if they meet the criteria outlined in the 1996 Washington State Wetland Delineation and Identification Manual. While the federal Food Security Act may exempt such lands from Clean Water Act Section 404 requirements, this exemption does not extend to state law. As a result, some wetlands may be free from federal oversight but remain fully regulated under Washington State rules.

These draft meeting notes from March 28, 2001 document a technical meeting regarding the 401 Permit Decision-Making process for Sea-Tac International Airport's Third Runway project. The meeting covered feedback on stormwater management deliverables, including corrections to hydrological modeling tables and figures, as well as scoping discussions for upcoming deliverables related to vault structural feasibility and maintenance documentation. Representatives from the Department of Ecology, King County, Port of Seattle, and several consulting firms attended, with follow-up meetings scheduled for early April 2001.