TagMiller Creek(254)

This document is a professional resume for Paul S. Fendt, P.E., a geological engineer with over 18 years of stormwater engineering experience. It highlights his role as Parametrix Project Manager supporting the Sea-Tac Airport Master Plan Update, which involved environmental permitting, wetland mitigation, and stormwater management planning for projects including a new third runway. His Sea-Tac work encompassed hydrologic modeling, stormwater treatment facility design, and creek relocation and restoration efforts related to airport redevelopment.

Dr. John Strand, a fisheries biologist, submitted this declaration to the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board challenging the state Department of Ecology's water quality certification for Sea-Tac Airport expansion. He argues that stormwater runoff from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport contains copper, lead, and zinc at levels exceeding Washington State Water Quality Criteria, citing the Port of Seattle's own 1995-1996 data showing metals concentrations downstream of airport outfalls far above allowable limits. The declaration was filed in support of the Airport Communities Coalition, representing several cities neighboring the airport, in their motion to stay the certification.

This 2001 Natural Resource Mitigation Plan document for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport outlines proposed environmental mitigation actions associated with construction of a new third runway and related facilities. It details a sequenced approach to avoiding, minimizing, and compensating for impacts to wetlands, Miller Creek, Des Moines Creek, and other natural resources. Key measures include constructing retaining walls to protect wetlands, restoring the Vacca Farm floodplain, establishing forested stream buffers, and providing a $300,000 trust fund for fisheries habitat enhancement.

This technical memo evaluates whether lead and zinc levels found in cutthroat trout from Miller Creek pose a risk, arguing that standard tissue screening concentrations are not appropriate for trout. Using fish-specific toxicity data and bioconcentration factors, the authors derive alternative thresholds and conclude that measured metal levels in the trout fall well below harmful concentrations. The document recommends using species-specific methods rather than generic screening values when assessing metal risks to fish.

Response to Comment #16 by David DeForest to Linda Logan (September 2001) critiquing Shephard (1999) tissue screening concentrations (TSCs) for lead (0.32 mg/kg dw) and zinc (100 mg/kg dw) as applied to cutthroat trout from Miller Creek. Argues Shephard TSCs derived from EPA water quality criteria and bioconcentration factors (BCFs) are not appropriate for cutthroat

Draft memorandum dated 8/13/01 from Ray Hellwig, Director, to Tom Fitzsimmons, Director, Washington State Department of Ecology, recommending approval of a 401 Water Quality Certification for the Port Of Seattle Sea-Tac International Airport (STIA) Third Runway and related projects. Document AR028003 covers the Port’s proposals to construct an 8,500-foot parallel third runway, two Runway Safety

Letter dated August 10, 2001, from James M. Lynch of Stoel Rives LLP, attorney for the Port Of Seattle, to Ken Berg, Manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Western Washington Office, transmitting a draft Embankment Seepage Monitoring Plan (MP) for the proposed Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway embankment fill. Submitted pursuant to the

Memorandum dated August 7, 2001 from Dave Garland, NWRO Water Quality Watershed Unit Supervisor, to Ann Kenny, Kevin Fitzpatrick, and Ray Hellwig of the Washington State Department of Ecology Northwest Regional Office. Reviews the Parametrix Inc. July 2001 report ‘Low Flow Analysis, Flow Impact Offset Facility Proposal’ prepared for Port Of Seattle regarding predicted impacts

Memorandum dated August 7, 2001 from Dave Garland, NWRO Water Quality Watershed Unit Supervisor, Washington State Department of Ecology, to Ann Kenny, Kevin Fitzpatrick, and Ray Hellwig, reviewing Parametrix Inc.’s July 2001 “Low Flow Analysis, Flow Impact Offset Facility Proposal” prepared for the Port Of Seattle regarding the proposed third runway at Sea-Tac Airport. Reviews

A technical review letter from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, written on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition, raises serious concerns about the Port of Seattle's Low Flow Analysis related to the proposed 3rd runway at SeaTac Airport. The letter identifies the July 23, 2001 document as incomplete and inconsistent with other project plans, citing missing sections, absent facility drawings, and unresolved questions about how water storage and release systems would function in practice. Key technical issues flagged include inadequate accounting for water transit losses, potentially impractical small-orifice flow controls, and poor calibration of streamflow models for Walker Creek.