TagAuburn Wetland(93)

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

In a December 1998 ruling, King County Superior Court Judge Peter D. Jarvis denied the Port of Seattle's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Citizens Against SeaTac Expansion, finding that the group had legal standing to challenge the Port's environmental decision regarding replacement wetlands in Auburn. The court determined that this decision was interrelated to the broader Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan Update, including the proposed Third Runway. While rejecting dismissal, the court stayed all proceedings until the Port completed all required environmental reviews under SEPA and Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act.

In this 1998 court declaration, Lawrence Corvari, Co-President of Citizens Against SeaTac Expansion (CASE), challenges the Port of Seattle's Auburn Mitigation Plan and its environmental review determination. Corvari argues that building replacement wetlands in Auburn rather than near the affected Miller Creek or Des Moines Creek watersheds leaves adverse environmental impacts unmitigated, harming CASE members' ability to enjoy local wildlife and a healthy environment. The declaration also corrects what Corvari describes as misrepresentations of his deposition testimony by the Port's attorneys in their Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Standing.

Helen Kludt, a Normandy Park resident who has lived near Miller Creek since 1956, submitted this 1998 court declaration supporting a legal challenge against the Port of Seattle's plans to expand Sea-Tac Airport with a third runway. She argues that the Port's proposal to destroy wetlands in the Miller Creek Basin and offset environmental impacts through out-of-basin mitigation in Auburn is inadequate and violates the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). Kludt contends the expansion will harm her property value, degrade local wildlife habitat, and worsen flooding along Miller Creek.

In October 1998, Lawrence Corvari, Co-President of Citizens Against Seatac Expansion (CASE), filed a declaration in King County Superior Court supporting a petition for a writ of review against the Port of Seattle. The declaration states that CASE directed its attorneys to appeal the Port's SEPA Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) related to the Auburn Mitigation Project, arguing that the Port's failure to comply with environmental review requirements harmed both the organization's members and the Miller Creek Basin environment.

Port Of Seattle response to public and agency comments on Army Corps of Engineers Public Notice Permit Reference No. 96-4-02325 for Master Plan Development Actions at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. AR035118/AR035119. Addresses six major concerns: EPA/COE MOA wetland impact sequencing and compensatory mitigation; justification for out-of-watershed mitigation (Auburn wetland) for wildlife habitat; South Aviation Support Area