TagClean Water Act(246)

Email chain dated March 12, 2001 from Steve Alexander (ECY/Ecology) to Ann Kenny and Raymond Hellwig, forwarding draft meeting notes from a March 9, 2001 management meeting between the Department of Ecology and the Port Of Seattle regarding the 401 Certification process for Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway. Alexander clarifies that TCP (Toxics Cleanup Program) committed

A March 9, 2001 letter from law firm Helsell Fetterman, representing the Airport Communities Coalition (cities of Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Normandy Park, Tukwila, and the Highline School District), demands that Washington State Department of Ecology enforce a 1999 Agreed Order requiring the Port of Seattle to complete groundwater contamination studies at Sea-Tac Airport. The coalition argues that the Port has failed to finish required groundwater flow and contaminant transport studies — originally due December 1999 — and that Ecology cannot legally certify the third runway project under the Clean Water Act without this data. The letter also requests a State Auditor review of how the Port spent grant money provided by Ecology to fund those studies.

A fisheries biologist writing on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition argues that the Port of Seattle has not provided sufficient scientific evidence to justify a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for its proposed third runway expansion at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The letter contends that the project would harm local streams (Miller Creek, Walker Creek, and Des Moines Creek) and their fish populations — including federally threatened Chinook salmon — through stream relocation, contaminated fill materials, and toxic stormwater runoff containing copper, zinc, and de-icing chemicals. The author concludes that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lacks an adequate scientific basis to approve the permit without additional environmental study and mitigation measures.

A February 2001 letter from law firm Helsell Fetterman, representing the Airport Communities Coalition (cities of Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Normandy Park, Tukwila, and the Highline School District), urges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State Department of Ecology to deny the Port of Seattle's permits for the proposed Sea-Tac third runway. The letter argues that the Port had already spent nearly $300 million on construction before receiving required Clean Water Act approvals, and that its application lacked adequate stormwater management plans and failed to meet water quality standards. Independent experts retained by the coalition found the Port's environmental mitigation proposals to be technically flawed, incomplete, and legally insufficient.

A water resources expert hired by the Airport Communities Coalition reviewed the Port of Seattle's stormwater management plan for Sea-Tac Airport expansion and found serious water quality concerns. The review concluded that the plan would harm surrounding streams and aquifers, that existing pollution controls were already failing to meet Washington State water quality standards, and that the proposed measures offered no reasonable assurance of future compliance. The expert recommended denial of both the Clean Water Act Section 401 certification and the Section 404 permit approval.

A fisheries biologist hired by the Airport Communities Coalition argues that the Port of Seattle has not provided sufficient scientific evidence to justify a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for its proposed third runway project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The report concludes that the Port's plans would harm wetlands, streams, and fish populations—including federally threatened Chinook salmon—in the Miller Creek, Walker Creek, and Des Moines Creek watersheds through contaminated fill, toxic stormwater runoff, and the rerouting of Miller Creek. The biologist urges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to require additional environmental studies and water quality modeling before any permit decision is made.

A February 2001 letter from Azous Environmental Sciences, submitted on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition, critiques the Port of Seattle's environmental mitigation plan for the proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The letter argues that key analyses of wetland functions, permanent and temporary wetland area losses, and cumulative environmental impacts are missing or scientifically unsupported in the Port's December 2000 documents. The author concludes that federal and state agencies lack sufficient information to determine whether the project complies with the Clean Water Act or whether the proposed mitigation adequately offsets the project's adverse impacts on wetlands, streams, and fisheries.

A 2001 environmental review letter from Sheldon & Associates, commissioned by the Airport Communities Coalition, challenges the Port of Seattle's technical documents for the proposed Third Runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The review finds that the Port has not adequately demonstrated that massive fill placement and engineered retaining walls would avoid long-term damage to downslope wetlands, groundwater flows, and Miller Creek. Key unresolved concerns include the reliability of the proposed underdrain system, incomplete baseline data, and the lack of independent construction oversight.

This document outlines the Washington State Department of Ecology's Section 401 Water Quality Certification review process for the proposed Sea-Tac Airport expansion, detailing the legal standards and unresolved environmental issues involved. Ecology was required to determine whether the expansion would meet state water quality standards by assessing direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on wetlands, stormwater, and streamflow, while coordinating with federal Clean Water Act permit requirements under Sections 401 and 402. As of October 2000, key aquatic resource protection issues—including stormwater management, wetland mitigation, and streamflow augmentation—remained unresolved pending additional information from the Port of Seattle.

In a January 2001 letter to Washington State Senator Julia Patterson, outgoing Department of Ecology official Tom Luster summarizes the key water quality issues surrounding the proposed Sea-Tac Airport expansion review under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act. The assessment outlines concerns including stormwater management, wetland impacts, streamflow, and whether the project's discharges would meet state water quality standards for antidegradation, beneficial uses, and numeric water quality criteria. Luster notes the views are his own and may not fully reflect Ecology's current position, directing the Senator to contact Ann Kenny at Ecology's Northwest Regional Office for the latest information.