TagEPA(118)

In June 2001, the EPA's Region 10 office submitted formal comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the Port of Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway project, which proposed filling over 18 acres of wetlands and 980 feet of Miller Creek. The EPA raised concerns about unresolved hydrological impacts, including the effects of a proposed retaining wall on nearby wetlands and groundwater flows, the adequacy of buffers around borrow pits, and the Port's undisclosed plans for vacant land parcels in the project area. The agency urged the Corps to carefully review these wetland and Clean Water Act compliance issues before issuing a construction permit.

This EPA fact sheet explains that aircraft contrails are line-shaped clouds made of ice crystals formed when water vapor in jet engine exhaust mixes with cold air at high altitudes. Contrails are composed primarily of water and do not pose direct health risks, but persistent contrails can spread into cirrus cloud cover and may influence the Earth's climate by affecting atmospheric cloudiness. Scientists estimate that persistent contrails cover about 0.1 percent of the Earth's surface on average, with the highest concentrations occurring over heavily trafficked air corridors like Europe and the United States.

This EPA document explains how poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools can harm students' health and academic performance, causing absences due to respiratory illnesses and reducing the ability to concentrate, calculate, and remember. Studies show that high pollution levels, inadequate ventilation, and improper temperature and humidity control contribute to these problems. The EPA recommends schools use the IAQ Tools for Schools Kit to identify and address indoor air quality issues at little or no cost.

Report prepared by Kevin V. Brix and David K. DeForest of Parametrix, Inc. for the International Lead Zinc Research Organization, International Copper Association, and Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association (NiPERA), April 2000. Reviews bioconcentration factors (BCFs) for metals including cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, silver, and zinc in aquatic organisms (fish, bivalves, invertebrates, algae, diatoms). Covers

This March 2000 report, prepared by Washington State health and environmental agencies, examines whether jet engine exhaust emissions from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport can be monitored or modeled using wind and takeoff data. It reviews previous air quality studies, outlines health and environmental justice concerns for nearby communities, and recommends a structured air quality monitoring study with specific methods, data analysis approaches, and estimated costs. The report was developed in consultation with community representatives, the EPA, and local universities.

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

Washington State Department of Ecology, Water Quality Program publication (WQ-R-95-80, revised December 1998) providing laboratory guidance and Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) test review criteria. Covers WET testing requirements in NPDES permits, options for permittees, invalid test criteria including EPA statistical flowcharts, negative controls, test termination, acceptable start counts, pH adjustment, randomization, and power standards. Also

This December 1998 internal memorandum from Justin Kophs to Linda Logan outlines options for developing a site-specific copper translator for the Port of Seattle, summarizing EPA guidance on dissolved and total recoverable metal sampling studies. It describes recommended approaches including field partitioning studies, historical data equations, and laboratory mixing tests to measure how copper partitions between dissolved and total recoverable forms in receiving water. The memo notes that while a site-specific translator improves compliance measurement accuracy, it cannot be used to influence permit limits in the same way as a Water Effect Ratio (WER).

A 1998 internal email from Ken Ludwa to Sabina Renn requests a literature search on best management practices (BMPs) for removing copper from stormwater, associated with a Port of Seattle project. The email provides an extensive list of search keywords covering filtration, chemical treatment, and various water-treatment technologies such as ion exchange, electrodialysis, and reverse osmosis. It also asks the library to locate two EPA publications on drinking water treatment for small communities.

In February 1998, the U.S. EPA Region 10 wrote to the Army Corps of Engineers recommending denial of a permit for the Port of Seattle's proposed third parallel runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, citing concerns over the filling of more than 11 acres of wetlands and portions of Miller Creek and Des Moines Creek. The EPA objected that the applicant's mitigation plan relied almost entirely on off-site wetland replacement in the Green River Valley rather than within the affected watersheds, and questioned whether alternatives to wetland fills for the South Aviation Support Area and on-site borrow areas had been adequately explored. The agency indicated it was willing to work with the Corps and the Port to identify solutions that would satisfy both aviation safety needs and Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) requirements.