TagThird Runway(1084)

Letter dated December 18, 1996 from Barbara Hinkle, Senior Environmental Specialist, Port Of Seattle, to Jack Kennedy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District Office, submitting a Section 404 Application to place fill material into waters of the United States at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport associated with the Master Plan Update. Covers background on the Puget

In December 1996, the Port of Seattle submitted a Section 404 permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place fill material in waters of the United States as part of Sea-Tac Airport's Master Plan Update, which included construction of a third parallel runway. The application explains that the new runway, located 2,500 feet west of the existing 16R/34L runway, was needed to reduce severe arrival delays during poor weather conditions, which were costing airlines approximately $42 million annually. The project was the outcome of nearly a decade of regional planning, including the PSRC's Flight Plan Study, which evaluated numerous alternatives before recommending the runway expansion as the best solution for the region's long-term air travel needs.

In December 1996, the Port of Seattle submitted a Section 404 permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place fill material into wetlands at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as part of its Master Plan Update, which included construction of a third parallel runway. The proposed runway, located 2,500 feet west of the existing runways, was intended to address severe arrival delays during poor weather conditions, which reduced airport capacity from 60 to as few as 24 arrivals per hour roughly 44% of the year. The application was the result of nearly a decade of regional planning, environmental review, and public involvement, including studies confirming that no feasible supplemental airport sites existed in the four-county region.

This document outlines a Neighborhood Impact Matrices framework used to assess environmental, transportation, and socio-economic effects of a proposed airport-related project on communities surrounding Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, including cities such as Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Normandy Park, and Tukwila. Each matrix evaluates impacts across four columns — Measure, Impact, Mitigation, and Cost — covering issues such as aircraft noise (DNL and SEL contours), air quality, surface and groundwater quality, wetlands, and floodplains. Proposed mitigations range from neighborhood buyouts at $760,000 per acre for areas within the 65 DNL contour to easement and insulation programs, stormwater management plans, and flight track modifications.

JARPA (Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application) and Section 404 application submitted by Port Of Seattle to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Jack Kennedy, Seattle District Office) in December 1996, prepared by Parametrix, Inc. Requests authorization to place fill material into waters of the United States at Sea-Tac Airport associated with the Master Plan Update

This 1996 document outlines the Port of Seattle's wetland impact and mitigation plan associated with the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Master Plan Update. It includes vicinity maps showing the airport's location in King County, Washington, and identifies numerous wetland sites affected by planned airport improvements. Detailed tables classify each impacted wetland by type—forested, shrub-scrub, or emergent—and quantify the acreage disturbed across sections of Townships 22N and 23N, Range 4E.

This 1996 plan by Parametrix, Inc. outlines the proposed relocation of Miller Creek to accommodate expansion improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It assesses the creek's existing ecological conditions—including fish habitat, hydrology, and riparian vegetation—and identifies the construction impacts the relocation would cause. The document then presents mitigation goals, site selection rationale, and engineering details for redesigning the creek channel to offset environmental impacts.

A Normandy Park resident and aerospace engineering manager submitted detailed comments in November 1996 criticizing a draft impact study related to Sea-Tac Airport's proposed Third Runway, arguing that the analysis underestimated real estate value losses, air pollution risks, and traffic disruptions caused by the project. The letter contends that home values in Normandy Park stagnated or declined after the Third Runway was publicly announced, and that any valid property value assessment must use baseline figures from before negative publicity began. The author also challenges the study's air quality modeling assumptions and traffic analysis, warning that the Port of Seattle would selectively cite favorable findings while ignoring methodological flaws.

HNTB-prepared Final Draft Phase I study (November 1996) for Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway fill material alternative delivery methods. Evaluates transport corridors including Corridor 1 (Des Moines Creek barge transfer and land conveyor), Corridor 2 (SR 509 conveyor, truck, rail), and Corridor 3 (SR 518 conveyor, truck, rail). Covers technical viability, construction/environmental permitting (local, state, federal),

A 1996 City of Burien memorandum outlines preliminary findings from a regional study on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of Sea-Tac Airport's proposed expansion and third runway. Estimated mitigation costs for five South King County cities totaled $3.05 billion over twenty years, with Burien alone facing roughly $800 million in costs and over $190 million in single-family property value losses by 2020. The study argues that because the airport's benefits are spread across the broader Puget Sound region while its costs—including noise, traffic, and a reduced tax base—fall disproportionately on a handful of nearby communities, targeted mitigation funding is both an equity issue and a necessity.