TagEcology(797)

Thomas R. Luster, a former 12-year Department of Ecology expert in water quality and wetlands, submitted this declaration to Washington's Pollution Control Hearings Board challenging the water quality certification issued for construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Luster, who served as Ecology's senior policy and technical expert for Clean Water Act Section 401 reviews and had personally overseen more than 700 such certifications, was asked to assess whether the project and its certification complied with federal and state water quality standards. His testimony was submitted in support of a request to stay the certification issued on August 10, 2001.

Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) Motion for Stay filed with the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), Case No. 01-133, seeking to stay Section 401 Certification No. 1996-4-02325 and accompanying CZMA concurrency statement issued by Washington State Department of Ecology to Port Of Seattle on August 10, 2001, related to construction of a Third Runway and

Proposed Order Granting Stay filed by Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) before the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), Case No. 01-133, seeking to stay Department of Ecology Order #1996-4-02325 (Section 401 Certification and CZMA concurrency statement issued August 10, 2001) related to construction of a third runway and related improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Attorneys Peter

This document is an email chain from September 2001 in which King County's David Masters notifies Ann Kenny that spending on a contract for technical review services provided to the Washington State Department of Ecology has exceeded its $95,000 limit by $23,695. Masters proposes amending the contract to increase the budget by $170,000 to a new total of $265,000, covering anticipated work such as low-flow analysis, preparation of appeal materials, and potential expert witness testimony. Ann Kenny forwarded the information to Michael Cheyne to facilitate the contract amendment process.

A September 2001 internal email summarizes a Stipulated Agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle regarding the third runway construction at Sea-Tac Airport. The agreement clarifies the scope and duration of water quality certification conditions (401 permit), including perpetual wetland mitigation requirements, 15-year wetland monitoring, and rules governing fill material approval and stormwater management. Key changes also address hydrologic monitoring schedules, buffer requirements, and reporting frequency to ensure environmental protections remain in place during and after construction.

In September 2001, attorneys for the Port of Seattle filed an appeal of Water Quality Certification #1996-4-02325, issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology for improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, including construction of a third runway. Simultaneously, the Port and the Department of Ecology filed a Stipulated Agreement and Agreed Order of Dismissal, resolving the Port's appeal by agreeing to amend the water quality certification. The Port requested that the Pollution Control Hearings Board accept the stipulation, dismiss the Port's appeal, and allow the separate Airport Communities Coalition appeal to proceed using the revised certification.

In September 2001, the Port of Seattle filed a Notice of Appeal before Washington State's Pollution Control Hearings Board, challenging conditions attached to Ecology's §401 Clean Water Act certification for the construction of a third parallel runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The appeal document argues that Ecology's certification already fully protects Washington's water resources and that the project had undergone more than a decade of rigorous planning, environmental review, and judicial scrutiny before receiving approval. The filing was prepared by the law firm Foster Pepper & Shefelman and was shared among legal and agency representatives as a confidential, attorney-client privileged communication tied to ongoing settlement discussions.

In September 2001, representatives from the Port of Seattle and the Washington Attorney General's office exchanged emails negotiating the language of Condition E(1)(b), which governs fill material criteria for an embankment construction project. The proposed language would allow the Port to use a 'drainage layer cover' design and to demonstrate fill suitability through Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) testing as an alternative to standard fill limitations. Under the proposal, SPLP test results would be submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology at least ten business days before any fill placement.

This September 2001 draft settlement agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle addresses conditions attached to a Clean Water Act §401 Certification for the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The agreement clarifies and revises specific environmental conditions — including wetland mitigation, stormwater management, and groundwater monitoring requirements — that would remain in effect during and after construction. The Port agreed to file a formal appeal solely to implement the settlement, after which the parties would jointly request the Pollution Control Hearings Board approve the agreed-upon modifications and dismiss the appeal.

This September 2001 draft settlement agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle addresses the Port's appeal of a Clean Water Act §401 Certification issued for the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The agreement clarifies and revises several certification conditions related to wetland mitigation, stormwater management, and groundwater monitoring. Both parties agreed to jointly request that the Pollution Control Hearings Board amend the certification accordingly, after which the Port's appeal would be dismissed.