TagConveyor(19)

A community flyer opposing a proposed conveyor belt system through Des Moines, Washington, that would transport arsenic-laden fill material from Maury Island to Sea-Tac Airport in support of the Port's Third Runway construction project. The Des Moines City Council had unanimously rejected the same proposal in 1999, and residents were urged to contact their council members to block the revived plan. Opponents argued the project would industrialize Des Moines Beach Park and put Des Moines Creek at environmental risk.

Memorandum dated July 9, 1999 from Reese P. Hastings and Michael J. Bailey, P.E. (Hart Crowser, Inc.) to Barbara Hinkle, Port Of Seattle, regarding Third Runway Project Borrow Areas 1, 3, and 4 and projected impacts to wetlands. Document J-4978-02 quantifies potential wetland resource impacts from excavation of borrow areas providing 7.9 million bank cubic

A June 1999 fax from Al Furney to Kristen Stewart of the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) asks whether ACC members are aware of the Port of Seattle's announced plans to haul rock and concrete to the Sea-Tac Airport site. Furney notes that RCAA (Residents Against Airport Noise, or a related community group) is seeking a copy of Merlino's contract with the Port. The fax was copied to the City of Burien, City of Normandy Park, CASE representative Larry Corvari, and Chris Gower.

In April 1999, a proposal to build a temporary two-mile conveyor belt to transport fill material for Sea-Tac Airport's planned third runway met strong resistance from Des Moines residents. The belt was intended to reduce heavy dump truck traffic on South King County roads, but neighbors opposed both the conveyor plan and the runway project itself, packing City Council meetings in protest. The third runway, requiring over 17 million cubic yards of fill, was scheduled for completion by 2005.

These documents relate to the 1999 Sea-Tac Airport airfield improvement project, including a haul permit issued to Gary Merlino Construction for trucking rock and concrete along designated routes near the airport, with restricted operating hours during the school year. Also included is a 1998 letter from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs describing a proposal by Environmental Materials Transport LLC to build a temporary barge terminal near Des Moines Creek Beach Park, with a conveyor system to move fill material to Sea-Tac Airport as an alternative to truck hauling. The materials reflect community and municipal concerns about construction traffic, noise, and environmental impact associated with airport expansion activities in the greater Sea-Tac area.

A Lynnwood contractor proposed using conveyor belts instead of trucks to haul the 23 million cubic yards of fill dirt needed for Sea-Tac Airport's third runway construction in the late 1990s. The plan would have barged dirt to Des Moines, then carried it 2.5 miles to the airport via belt, cutting the estimated haul time from five years to two and a half. Des Moines residents, already angry about the runway routing air traffic over their downtown, reacted skeptically and accused the contractor of trying to bribe the city with promises of new parks in exchange for cooperation.

HNTB-prepared Final Draft Phase I study (November 1996) for Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway fill material alternative delivery methods. Evaluates transport corridors including Corridor 1 (Des Moines Creek barge transfer and land conveyor), Corridor 2 (SR 509 conveyor, truck, rail), and Corridor 3 (SR 518 conveyor, truck, rail). Covers technical viability, construction/environmental permitting (local, state, federal),

A 1996 Seattle Times article details the massive earth-moving challenge facing Sea-Tac Airport's planned third runway, which required importing approximately 14.25 million cubic yards of fill dirt at an estimated cost of $120 million to level a corridor of dips and valleys as deep as 145 feet. Port of Seattle planners were exploring multiple options for sourcing and transporting the dirt, including conveyor belts, barges, and rail spurs, while facing legal opposition from nearby cities who argued the project understated environmental and community harm.

In 1996, Lynnwood engineer Hank Hopkins proposed using barges and an electric conveyor belt system to transport the roughly 14 million cubic yards of fill dirt needed to build a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, rather than relying on a constant stream of dump trucks. Hopkins argued his patented modular conveyor system would be faster, cheaper, quieter, and less disruptive to surrounding communities than the truck-based approach outlined in the environmental study. The city of Des Moines, which opposed the runway project, was seen as the primary obstacle to approving the conveyor plan, as the system would require city permits that trucking would not.