TagThird Runway(206)

A federal court ruled in favor of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Seattle, rejecting a legal challenge by the Airport Communities Coalition — a group of cities near Sea-Tac Airport — over a Clean Water Act permit issued in December 2002 for the airport's Third Runway Project. The permit authorizes filling approximately 50 wetlands with over 23 million cubic yards of material to support construction of a new 8,500-foot runway. The court found the Corps' decision was not arbitrary or capricious under the Administrative Procedures Act's standard of review.

The State of Washington filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a 2003 federal case concerning the Port of Seattle's proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The case centered on whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was required to include all conditions set by the Washington State Department of Ecology in its Clean Water Act Section 404 permit, after a state appeals board added sixteen conditions to the original water quality certification. Washington argued that federal law gives states sole authority to enforce their own water quality standards on federally permitted projects, and that the Corps improperly ignored nine of those sixteen conditions.

This June 2003 Capital Improvement Program briefing provides an update on the Third Runway project at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. It outlines the revised 1999 project cost of $773 million, a target completion date of Fall 2006, and the assumption that an Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permit would be obtained by December 1999. A project schedule chart shows the planned phases—permitting, runway embankment, and runway pavement—spanning from 1999 through 2006, along with progress made to date.

A 2003 Port of Seattle memo updates the Commission on the ballooning costs of the Sea-Tac Third Runway project, which had grown from an approved budget of $773 million to an estimated $1.1–1.15 billion due to environmental permitting delays, litigation, and stricter regulatory requirements. The project, intended to reduce airport congestion by allowing simultaneous landings on two runways during poor weather, was projected for completion in 2008 if construction contracts were advertised promptly. Key cost drivers included $151 million in additional environmental permit requirements, $55 million in delay costs, and $55 million in project scope additions.

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.