TagArmy Corp of Engineers(124)

Memorandum dated May 3, 2000 from Jim Kelley (Wetland Ecologist, Parametrix Inc.) to Jonathan Freedman (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), cc Elizabeth Leavitt (Port of Seattle), analyzing indirect impacts to wetlands from the temporary SR-509 interchange at South 176th Street near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Concludes no significant indirect impacts to Wetland 43 or Wetland 44

In a November 1999 letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the law firm Smith & Lowney submitted comments on behalf of Citizens Against Seatac Expansion (CASE) opposing a permit for the Port of Seattle's proposed Third Runway expansion at Sea-Tac Airport. The letter argues that the permit should be denied because the project would violate federal and state water quality standards, including toxic effluent limits for copper and zinc, and cause significant degradation to U.S. waters. It urges the Corps to consider not only the direct environmental impacts of the proposed fill, but also the cumulative and secondary effects of all current and future airport operations when making its permitting decision.

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.

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.

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.

In January 1999, the Port of Seattle filed a legal memorandum in King County Superior Court supporting a proposed order to stay (pause) a lawsuit brought by Citizens Against SeaTac Expansion (CASE) regarding the expansion of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The central dispute concerned the construction of a proposed third runway and the filling of nearby wetlands, with the Port arguing that court proceedings should be paused until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a final decision on the Port's wetland-fill permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The two parties disagreed on the exact language defining how long the stay should last, with the Port seeking a clear end date tied to the Corps' permit decision and CASE proposing broader conditions related to Port environmental decisions.

The City of Auburn agenda bill requesting City Council adoption of Ordinance 5128, which amends the Zoning Ordinance to add Section 18.48.110 establishing criteria for wetland mitigation construction unrelated to development projects within Auburn. The amendment was prompted by a request from the Port of Seattle to construct a wetland mitigation project in northeast Auburn

Hart Crowser letter (project J-4978-03) to Barbara Hinkle, Health Safety & Environmental Services, Port Of Seattle, dated December 9, 1998, addressing aquifer compaction beneath the proposed Third Runway embankment at Sea-Tac Airport in response to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers questions on hydrogeologic impacts. Analysis covers the Shallow Aquifer (contributing to Miller Creek base flow),