TagPCHB(17)

The Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) asked a federal court to reconsider its ruling that allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to issue a wetlands fill permit for a Port of Seattle project. ACC argued the court overlooked a December 2001 Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board order that effectively blocked the required water quality certification within the legally allowed one-year window, which under the Clean Water Act should have prevented the permit from being granted.

In September 2002, the Port of Seattle filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court challenging eight of sixteen environmental protections imposed on its Third Runway project by the State Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB). The Airport Communities Coalition, which opposed the runway expansion, argued that this legal action proved the Port could not build the Third Runway while complying with environmental and water-quality laws. This appeal marked the third time the Port had used the courts to attempt to weaken environmental safeguards tied to the project.

This legal document covers a 2002 Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board case in which the Airport Communities Coalition and Citizens Against Airport Expansion challenged the water quality certification issued by the Department of Ecology for the construction of a Third Runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The hearing examined 20 issues related to stormwater management, water quality standards, and whether adequate assurances existed that the runway project would comply with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The case involved the Port of Seattle as a respondent and centered on whether proper environmental safeguards were in place before construction could proceed.

In March 2002, the Port of Seattle filed a motion asking the Pollution Control Hearings Board to quash a subpoena issued by the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) seeking testimony from Dr. Linda Logan, an employee of consulting firm Parametrix. The Port argued two reasons for quashing: Dr. Logan did not appear on any party's final witness list as required by the Board's pre-hearing order, and the accompanying notice under Civil Rule 43(f) was improper because Dr. Logan was neither a party nor a managing agent of the Port of Seattle.

In early 2002, the Port of Seattle filed a legal memorandum seeking to compel the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) to make its witnesses available for deposition and to place limits on a requested inspection of Port property near Sea-Tac Airport. The Port objected to ACC's demands for unrestricted site access for 17 people, unlimited environmental sampling across 18 acres of wetlands and multiple creeks, and refusal to disclose sampling locations or methods in advance. ACC, in turn, refused to schedule any depositions until the site visit dispute was resolved.

This circa-2002 community advocacy document from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs opposes construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, arguing that the Port of Seattle lacked required environmental permits, had already spent over $300 million, and that the project posed serious risks to local wetlands, fish habitat, and watersheds affecting 150,000 south county residents. The document also highlights a controversial proposal to transport arsenic-laden fill material via a conveyor belt through Des Moines Beach Park and Des Moines Creek to the airport construction site. Residents are urged to contact Port commissioners and local city council members to halt the project.