TagAuburn Wetland(93)

A presentation by Sandra Kilroy, Director of Maritime Environment and Sustainability at the Port of Seattle, delivered to the AAPA Environment Committee on November 6, 2019. The presentation outlines the Port’s unique position as owner of extensive shoreline in critical habitat areas and describes its PORTfolio program, which includes 31 habitat sites, 21 parks, and

This June 2016 document from the Port of Seattle presents a Construction Authorization Request for enhancements to the Auburn Wetland Mitigation Site, a wetland area located south of Seattle near Auburn, Washington. The site, originally constructed in 2006, serves as a mitigation site likely associated with environmental impacts from Sea-Tac Airport operations or related Port of Seattle projects. The request seeks approval to carry out site improvement work at the approximately 80-acre wetland property situated near the Green River.

The Port of Seattle requested $720,000 in Commission authorization to improve the Auburn wetland mitigation site, a nature area created to offset environmental impacts from Sea-Tac Airport's Third Runway construction. The project involves removing roughly 6,171 feet of temporary internal roads, planting approximately 5,000 native trees and shrubs in their place, and installing a new chain-link security fence to stop ongoing trespassing, vandalism, and illegal dumping. These enhancements are required to comply with Clean Water Act permits tied to the 1997 Master Plan Update and are intended to reduce long-term maintenance costs.

The Auburn Mitigation Site is an 80-acre wetland restoration project in the Green River floodplain, created by the Port of Seattle to offset natural resource impacts from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's third runway construction. The site features forested, scrub-shrub, and emergent wetlands that provide 40 acre-feet of floodplain storage, while keeping waterfowl habitat away from the airport to reduce bird-strike hazards to aircraft. As of 2013, the Port was in Year 6 of a 15-year monitoring program, with most communities successfully maturing and meeting performance standards after targeted removal of invasive species such as reed canary grass and cattail.

In this 2004 declaration filed with the Washington Supreme Court, Robin V. Kordik, a Senior Environmental Program Manager for the Port of Seattle's Aviation Division, describes efforts to identify wetland mitigation sites near Sea-Tac Airport in connection with the airport's Third Runway construction project. A study by environmental firm Parametrix assessed 89 potential mitigation locations but concluded that no suitable new sites were available in the affected sub-basins that met the Pollution Control Hearings Board's criteria for sustainability and public safety. The declaration was submitted in opposition to a motion for injunctive relief brought by the Airport Communities Coalition.

Draft Declaration of Restrictive Covenants by Port Of Seattle for four mitigation sites associated with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan Improvements, including third runway construction. Covers Miller Creek Buffer Areas, Miller Creek/Lora Lake Wetland and Floodplain, Tyee Valley Golf Course Wetland Enhancement, and Auburn Wetland Mitigation Site (approximately 69 acres in City of Auburn). Executed

Prefiled direct testimony of James C. Kelley, Ph.D., submitted in PCHB case No. 01-160 before the Pollution Control Hearings Board for the State of Washington. Filed on behalf of respondents Department of Ecology and Port Of Seattle against appellants Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) and Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion (CASE). Testimony covers wetland delineation and classification,

Attachment G table detailing wetland acreage impacts and mitigation credits by wetland function for in-basin and Auburn sites, related to the Sea-Tac Airport or associated project. Functions covered include Resident/Anadromous Fish (8.6 acres impacted), Passerine Birds (14.9 acres), Waterfowl (1.9 acres), Amphibians (9.8 acres), Small Mammals (13.2 acres), Exports Organic Matter (10.9 acres), Ground Water

AR 035003. Attachment F table comparing wetland mitigation projects — Vacca Farm, Miller Creek Buffer, Tyee Golf Course, and Auburn Wetland — against Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) criteria including reinstatement of driving ecological processes, restoration integrated into the landscape, restores a persistent resilient system, results in historic wetland conditions, and performance standards based on