TagClean Water Act(246)

Internal email from Tom Luster to Kevin Fitzpatrick dated January 12, 2000, discussing the legal distinction between Clean Water Act Section 401(d) and Section 402(a) as applied to Sea-Tac Airport water quality (WQ) and State Environmental Policy Act (SEA/SEPA) policies. Email quotes statutory language verbatim: 401(d) uses mandatory ‘shall’ language for effluent limitations and monitoring

Email dated January 3, 2000 from Raymond Hellwig (WQ Program) to Tom Luster (SEA Program), cc’d to Ron Langley, Dave Garland, Erik Stockdale, Gordon White, Jeannie Summerhays, John Glynn, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Paula Ehlers, Megan White, and Dan Silver. Responds to Luster’s December 23, 1999 message regarding premature death of Coho salmon in Des Moines Creek

A January 2000 internal email from EPA's Raymond Hellwig to Tom Luster addresses concerns about premature deaths of Coho salmon in Des Moines Creek near Sea-Tac Airport, in the context of the proposed third runway project. The email clarifies that stormwater discharge regulation will be handled through NPDES permits rather than Section 401 Water Quality Certifications, as the NPDES permit provides the only mechanism for ongoing regulatory oversight under the Clean Water Act. Hellwig directs Luster to defer to the Water Quality Program on stormwater issues and to stop raising the 401 Certification as an alternative avenue for addressing water quality standards.

EPA report (EPA 821-R-00-001, January 2000) presenting a preliminary data summary of airport deicing operations. Covers aircraft and pavement deicing/anti-icing fluids including ethylene glycol-based compounds, fluid types, fluid application methods, variables affecting fluid use, nonchemical deicing methods, and NPDES/Clean Water Act wastewater concerns. Data collected via 1993 screener questionnaire, airport/vendor/POTW mini-questionnaires, EPA site visits, EPA

A December 1999 environmental assessment prepared for Citizens Against Seatac Expansion (CASE) concludes that the Port of Seattle failed to provide sufficient scientific evidence to assure compliance with Clean Water Act water quality standards for its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport expansion project. The report found that stormwater runoff from the airport was causing ongoing violations of toxic substances criteria — particularly for copper and zinc — in nearby Miller and Des Moines Creeks, with pollutant levels sometimes exceeding EPA limits by more than tenfold. The author argues that Ecology therefore lacked a scientifically defensible basis to issue a Section 401 water quality certification for the proposed wetland-filling and stormwater management improvements.

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.

Email chain from Raymond Hellwig (Washington State Department of Ecology) to Thomas Fitzsimmons and Bill Alkire, cc’ing Carol Jolly, Ron Langley, Tom Luster, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Dave Garland, Erik Stockdale, Roger Nye, and Paul David Carr, dated September 17, 1999. Discusses Governor’s reported commitment to Sea-Tac legislators (Paterson et al.) that the Section 401 Water Quality

Internal email from Tom Luster (Ecology) to Raymond Hellwig, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Erik Stockdale, and Paula Ehlers, dated September 16, 1999, regarding SeaTac Airport 401 certification and compliance with water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. Discusses non-attainment of water quality standards in Des Moines Creek and Miller Creek, antidegradation requirements, Level 2 detention requirements,

Email chain (AR 033708–033710) among Washington State Department of Ecology staff Paula Ehlers, Tom Luster, and Raymond Hellwig, with ATG staff Tom McDonald and Joan Marchioro, dated June 1–13, 1999, regarding the Port Of Seattle third runway proposal and 401 water quality certification for Des Moines Creek. Discusses antidegradation requirements under Washington Water Quality Standards

A May 1999 email exchange between Washington State Department of Ecology staff discusses wetland mitigation challenges near an airport flight path, referencing a similar case in Petaluma, California where seasonal wetlands were allowed to remain near a municipal airport under strict conditions. The staff propose a framework involving monitoring for hazardous bird activity, defined management options, and contingency plans for replacement wetland sites if the existing mitigation proves unsafe. The emails emphasize that while the goal is to find creative regulatory solutions to approve the project under Section 401, denial remains a possibility if adequate safeguards cannot be agreed upon.