TagRCAA(206)

The Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) filed a motion with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals requesting permission to submit a legal brief that exceeds the standard 14,000-word limit, seeking to file one of 15,195 words instead. The case challenges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' approval of the Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway Project, one of the largest public works projects in Washington state history, involving the importation of over 23 million cubic yards of fill material. ACC argued the extra length was necessary due to the extreme complexity of the case, which spans a 100,000-page administrative record and raises multiple legal issues under the Clean Water Act and NEPA.

This document is the Master Plan Update for Snohomish County Airport/Paine Field, covering a comprehensive range of planning topics including existing airport conditions, aviation activity forecasts, capacity analysis, facility requirements, and a long-term development program. It outlines airfield and landside infrastructure needs, environmental considerations, and financial planning strategies for the airport's future growth. Note that this plan pertains to Paine Field in Snohomish County and does not directly address noise policy at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

This map document illustrates the planned Third Runway expansion at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, showing the proposed runway location, construction staging area, and fill 'borrow' areas in the Sea-Tac region. The map covers surrounding communities including Burien, Normandy Park, and Des Moines, and highlights nearby waterways such as Des Moines Creek, Miller Creek, and Walker Creek that could be affected by construction. Based on the 1996 Port of Seattle EIS Sea-Tac Airport Master Plan and 1997–1998 King County Wetlands Maps, the document provides geographic context for environmental and land-use planning related to the runway project.

This document lists 16 permit conditions related to environmental protections at what appears to be a Port development project, showing which conditions were accepted and which were appealed. Conditions covering stormwater management, wetland mitigation, fill criteria, and water quality monitoring were contested, with 8 of the 16 conditions formally appealed. Accepted conditions include stormwater sampling, wetland hydroperiod matching, and long-term contamination monitoring requirements.

This legal brief was filed before Washington State's Pollution Control Hearings Board by community groups challenging a stormwater discharge permit issued to the Port of Seattle for Sea-Tac Airport. The groups argue that Lake Reba, a detention pond on airport property, should be protected as a 'water of the state' and that the permit unlawfully fails to regulate or monitor the airport's industrial stormwater discharges from Lake Reba into Miller Creek. The appellants contend that, unlike other waterways affected by the airport, Lake Reba's discharge point was not even identified as an outfall, leaving it subject to no effluent limits, monitoring, or reporting requirements.

The Port of Seattle filed a pre-hearing brief challenging aspects of a 2003 water pollution permit issued by Washington State's Department of Ecology for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). The permit, considered one of the most stringent stormwater permits in the country, sets numeric water quality limits, requires extensive toxicity testing, and mandates upgrades to the airport's stormwater and wastewater management systems. The brief addresses a range of contested issues, including effluent limits, sampling requirements, and construction stormwater controls.

This article from the Snohomish County Business Journal discusses growing interest in establishing scheduled commercial air service at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, as an alternative to the congested Sea-Tac Airport. Supporters argue that commercial flights would boost the local economy and attract new businesses, while noting that modern, quieter aircraft have significantly reduced noise concerns. The county's 20-year airport master plan, approved in December, projected commuter service flights from Paine Field within five years.

A Sierra Club special report critiques Washington Governor Gary Locke's environmental record, with particular focus on the SeaTac Third Runway project, where Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons allegedly removed staff who sought to enforce environmental laws and signed the 'Toxic Fill Bill' allowing contaminated materials to be used in runway construction. The report details how the Port of Seattle's $1 billion-plus runway expansion required building one of the world's largest retaining walls over fish-bearing streams and wetlands in an earthquake-prone area. The Pollution Control Hearings Board ultimately found state permits insufficient and imposed 16 additional environmental conditions on the project.

This document is a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) waste discharge permit issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology to the Port of Seattle for Sea-Tac International Airport. It governs the discharge of treated industrial wastewater into Puget Sound and stormwater runoff into nearby waterways including Des Moines Creek, Miller Creek, and Walker Creek. The permit sets effluent limits, monitoring requirements, and reporting obligations to protect water quality in the receiving waters.

This NPDES permit fact sheet for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport details the locations and receiving waterways for all stormwater and industrial wastewater discharge outfalls at the facility. It covers three categories of discharge: industrial wastewater flowing to Puget Sound, stormwater from industrial activities flowing to local waterways such as Des Moines Creek, Miller Creek, and Northwest Pond, and stormwater from construction activities discharged to Des Moines Creek, Miller Creek, Walker Creek, and Gilliam Creek. The document lists both existing and future planned outfall locations with precise latitude and longitude coordinates for each discharge point.