TagRegional Commission On Airport Affairs(43)

Environmental groups challenged the validity of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's wastewater discharge permit, arguing that it failed to require the Port of Seattle to use all known and reasonable methods to treat pollution from aircraft deicing fluids. The permit allowed largely untreated industrial wastewater containing high levels of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from glycol-based deicing chemicals to be discharged into Puget Sound, despite the Port's own recommendation for full biological treatment. The groups sought a ruling to invalidate the permit and force regulators to reissue it in compliance with state and federal environmental law.

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance filed a legal appeal challenging an environmental permit issued to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) by the Washington Department of Ecology in September 2003. The group argued that the airport's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit was unlawful because it failed to adequately regulate the discharge of harmful pollutants, including BOD, COD, and toxic substances, into Puget Sound. Key concerns included an overly lenient compliance schedule, the improper approval of a pollution mixing zone, and inadequate monitoring requirements under the federal Clean Water Act and Washington State regulations.

This NASA technical report investigates the mathematical relationship between the area enclosed by aircraft noise contour maps and the noise levels measured at standard certification points around an airport. Written by researcher Clemans A. Powell at NASA Langley Research Center in 2003, the study aims to help aviation planners and policymakers better understand how noise certification data can be used to predict the geographic extent of noise impact around airports like Sea-Tac.

In April 2003, the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) submitted formal comments criticizing a proposed water pollution permit renewal for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, arguing that it failed to adequately protect local waterways from airport runoff and industrial wastewater. Key concerns included excessive delays in enforcing limits on harmful chemicals from aircraft de-icing operations, insufficient monitoring of stormwater containing copper and zinc harmful to fish, and a compliance schedule for wastewater treatment that stretched years beyond what regulators considered acceptable. The RCAA urged the Washington Department of Ecology to strengthen the permit's requirements and accelerate deadlines for bringing the airport into compliance with water quality standards.

This Fall 2001 newsletter from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs covers several developments surrounding the proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport, including a legal appeal of the state's water quality certification, concerns about the Port's environmental plans, and the financial impact of the September 11 attacks on airport expansion projects nationwide. The newsletter also reports on local election races where third-runway opposition has become a key issue, and examines whether airlines will be able to meet lease payments needed to fund the costly expansion project.

A community flyer opposing a proposed conveyor belt system through Des Moines, Washington, that would transport arsenic-laden fill material from Maury Island to Sea-Tac Airport in support of the Port's Third Runway construction project. The Des Moines City Council had unanimously rejected the same proposal in 1999, and residents were urged to contact their council members to block the revived plan. Opponents argued the project would industrialize Des Moines Beach Park and put Des Moines Creek at environmental risk.

This is a library catalog listing documents published in the year 2000 related to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) and its surrounding environment. The records cover a wide range of regulatory and planning topics, including §401/404 wetland permits, aircraft noise mitigation studies for the Highline School District, stormwater management plans, wildlife hazard management, and the airport's Third Runway construction project. Sources include the Port of Seattle, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Ecology, and various environmental consulting firms.

A 2001 community newsletter documenting widespread opposition to Sea-Tac Airport's proposed third runway construction, which required destroying 18 acres of wetlands. Residents, local elected officials, and independent experts raised serious concerns about earthquake safety, environmental damage to local streams and salmon habitat, and the structural integrity of four unprecedented earthen retaining walls planned for the project. The Port of Seattle's applications were repeatedly challenged and withdrawn due to fatal flaws in environmental planning and seismic risk analysis.

A 2001 community newsletter details strong opposition to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's proposed third runway, highlighting concerns about destruction of local wetlands, earthquake safety risks from massive earthen retaining walls built on unstable soil, and damage to nearby streams and salmon habitat. Nearly 100 of 117 speakers at January 2001 Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Ecology hearings spoke against the project, including 22 elected officials from surrounding communities. Critics also questioned the Port of Seattle's trustworthiness in fulfilling environmental mitigation promises, citing a history of incomplete studies and unfulfilled commitments.

This Fall 2000 newsletter from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs covers the Port of Seattle's controversial third-runway expansion at Sea-Tac Airport, focusing on the Port's withdrawal and resubmission of its wetlands permit application after regulators were poised to deny it, amid allegations of political interference. It also reports on the reassignment of veteran Department of Ecology analysts critical of the project, community opposition including a student activist group called KIK, and a proposed state legislative effort to study alternative airport sites rather than expand Sea-Tac.