TagThird Runway(206)

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.

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.

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 August 2002 permit application by the Port of Seattle outlines proposed Master Plan Update improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, including the construction of a third runway, expanded taxiways, cargo facilities, and terminal upgrades. The documents map both on-site and off-site wetland mitigation areas required to offset environmental impacts, with retaining walls and creek relocations used to minimize effects on wetlands and Miller Creek. The project spans multiple sections of King County, Washington, and includes detailed plans for stormwater detention, runway safety areas, and property acquisition boundaries.

This August 2002 document outlines proposed Master Plan Update improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac), submitted by the Port of Seattle. It details construction projects including a third runway, runway safety areas, terminal expansions, and air cargo facilities, along with wetland impact mitigation measures in the Miller Creek Basin. The plans include on-site and off-site wetland mitigation areas, MSE retaining walls to minimize environmental impacts, and creek relocations across multiple sections of King County, Washington.

This legal document covers a 2002 Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board case in which the Airport Communities Coalition and Citizens Against Airport Expansion challenged the water quality certification issued by the Department of Ecology for the construction of a Third Runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The hearing examined 20 issues related to stormwater management, water quality standards, and whether adequate assurances existed that the runway project would comply with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. The case involved the Port of Seattle as a respondent and centered on whether proper environmental safeguards were in place before construction could proceed.

This is a catalogued index of documents from 2001 related to the proposed Third Runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, covering regulatory filings, public comments, and environmental studies. It includes records from agencies such as the Department of Ecology, the Corps of Engineers, and King County, addressing topics like stormwater management, NPDES permits, groundwater studies, and the impact of the February 2001 Nisqually Earthquake on airport structures. The catalog serves as a reference guide directing researchers to archival notebooks and specific shelf locations where the full documents are stored.

In February 2001, engineering firm GeoSyntec Consultants submitted a technical review letter on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition, raising serious concerns about the proposed Third Runway expansion at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The review identified significant deficiencies in the geotechnical investigation and analysis supporting construction of the embankment fill and West MSE Wall, including insufficient soil strength data and inadequate seismic safety assessments. GeoSyntec warned that the proposed design — which would result in the world's tallest MSE wall built over weak, potentially unstable soils in a seismically active region — could fail under earthquake conditions, threatening both airport operations and nearby natural resources.