TagRCAA(197)

The Washington State Department of Ecology held a public workshop and hearing on March 31, 2003, to discuss the proposed reissuance of a water quality permit for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The permit covers industrial wastewater discharges to Puget Sound and stormwater runoff to nearby creeks from airport activities such as aircraft maintenance, fueling, washing, and deicing. Written public comments were accepted through April 15, 2003.

This document is a catalog of 31 reports and studies published in 1999 related to Sea-Tac Airport expansion and environmental review, including wetland assessments, stormwater monitoring, subsurface conditions reports, and community health studies. Sources range from the Port of Seattle and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to environmental consultants such as Parametrix and Hart Crowser. The materials primarily concern the proposed third runway project and its impacts on local ecosystems, waterways, and surrounding communities.

This is a library catalog (LBY-2002) listing 16 documents published in 2002 and held in an archive related to Sea-Tac Airport and regional aviation policy. The collection covers topics including airport noise studies, FAA forecasts, wetland mitigation, water quality permits, and legal proceedings involving Section 401 and 404 environmental certifications for the airport. Each entry provides the document title, author or agency, publication date, and the date it was added to the archive.

On December 13, 2002, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a federal permit allowing the Port of Seattle to build a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport as part of its Master Plan Update. The project includes an 8,500-foot runway, two Runway Safety Areas, and related construction that will permanently impact nearly 20 acres of wetlands and up to 980 linear feet of Miller Creek. After weighing input from government agencies and the public, the Corps determined the project was not contrary to the public interest and approved the permit.

This 2002 executive briefing presents the draft Master Plan and environmental review documents (SEPA/EIS and NEPA/EA) for King County International Airport (Boeing Field), located five miles south of downtown Seattle. The airport, which covers 594 acres and hosts 150 tenant businesses and 479 based aircraft, recorded approximately 290,000 flight operations in 2001. The FAA accepted the Master Plan in Fall 2001 and approved the Airport Layout Plan in March 2002, setting the stage for future development and noise impact assessments.

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 is a King County Superior Court case schedule order for an administrative appeal, signed by Presiding Judge Richard D. Eadie on September 6, 2002. The order sets key deadlines for the case, including filing of briefs, administrative agency records, and a review hearing date of April 7, 2003. All parties are required to comply with the schedule, as failure to meet deadlines could result in dismissal of the appeal.

In September 2002, the Port of Seattle notified nearby residents that it would be removing trees located west and south of Tyee Golf Course, near South 196th Street, at the direction of the Federal Aviation Administration. The trees were identified as hazards to aircraft taking off and landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Work was scheduled to begin September 16, 2002, and was expected to last up to four weeks.

The Port of Seattle filed a petition in August 2002 asking the Pollution Control Hearings Board to reconsider Condition 8 of its Final Order, which prohibited the use of a soil-testing method called SPLP (Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure) to approve fill material for the Third Runway expansion project at Sea-Tac Airport. The Port argued that banning SPLP made it nearly impossible to find acceptable fill soil, since up to 78% of naturally occurring, uncontaminated soils would fail the Board's strict numeric criteria when tested across multiple constituents. The Port maintained that proper use of SPLP poses no environmental threat to water quality and requested the Board allow its use under specific conditions so the runway project could proceed.

This document chronicles the Port of Seattle's second Section 401 Clean Water Act permit application, submitted in September 1999, which was on the verge of being denied by the Washington State Department of Ecology due to multiple shortcomings related to wetlands and water quality. On September 28, 2000, a private, unannounced meeting was held between Port, Ecology, and Governor's office officials, after which the Port strategically withdrew its application to avoid a formal denial. A series of closed-door negotiating sessions followed in October 2000, none of which were publicly announced, raising concerns about political influence and lack of transparency in the permitting process for Sea-Tac Airport expansion.