TagThird Runway(1067)

The Port of Seattle submitted formal objections and responses to interrogatories filed by the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) before Washington State's Pollution Control Hearings Board, related to a legal dispute over the Port's Third Runway Project. The case centered on the Department of Ecology's water quality certification issued under federal Clean Water Act Section 401. The document outlines the legal procedures governing the exchange of information between the parties during the hearing process.

This document contains the Port of Seattle's formal objections and responses to interrogatories and requests for production filed by the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) before Washington State's Pollution Control Hearings Board (Case No. 01-160). The Port identifies over a dozen expert witnesses it intends to call, including specialists in geotechnical engineering, toxicology, hydrology, and groundwater science from firms such as Parametrix, Inc., Hart Crowser, and ENSR Toxicology. The case centers on environmental and pollution concerns related to Sea-Tac Airport operations.

ACC (Airport Communities Coalition) motion for partial summary judgment filed in PCHB No. 01-160 against State of Washington Department of Ecology and Port of Seattle, arguing the Section 401 Certification should be invalidated because the Port lacks a water right to permanently mitigate low-flow impacts of the Sea-Tac Airport third runway project. Cites PCHB December

This December 2001 letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Western Washington office provides detailed comments on a Monitoring Plan for Embankment Fill Seepage related to a Sea-Tac Airport Master Plan Update, reviewed under the Endangered Species Act. The agency requested key revisions, including monitoring both seepage quality and quantity, beginning monitoring when seepage first occurs rather than after embankment completion, and ensuring groundwater wells are considered as a monitoring pathway. The letter also clarified that any exceedances of water quality criteria must be reported promptly, and that the Federal Aviation Administration—not the Port—would be responsible for reinitiating formal consultation.

Memorandum dated December 20, 2001 from Michael Bailey, P.E. and Reda A. Mikhail, P.E. of Hart Crowser, Inc. to Jim Thomson, P.E. of HNTB Corporation regarding AR053223, project 4798-40. Analyzes sensitivity of MSE (Mechanically Stabilized Earth) wall design to variations in soil shear modulus under dynamic/seismic loading for the Third Runway Project at Sea-Tac Airport,

Email from Jim Kelley (Parametrix, Inc.) to Ann Kenny dated December 19, 2001, transmitting a matrix document summarizing changes made to the Port Of Seattle Natural Resources Mitigation Plan (NRMP) to comply with Water Quality Certification #1996-4-02325 (401 Certification) issued September 21, 2001. The attached matrix details resolutions for required mitigation conditions including: monitoring duration

Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB) Order Granting Motion to Stay the Effectiveness of Section 401 Certification No. 1996-4-02325 (amended-1), issued by Washington State Department of Ecology to the Port Of Seattle on September 21, 2001, in case PCHB 01-160. Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) filed the motion; Board members Kaleen Cottingham and Robert V. Jensen heard

A December 2001 technical letter from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, written on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition, identifies inconsistencies in the Port of Seattle's stormwater management plans for Sea-Tac Airport expansion. The letter argues that the Port's hydrologic modeling failed to account for the planned commercial redevelopment of borrow pit areas by 2006, and that the Natural Resource Mitigation Plan reverted to an outdated stormwater approach relying on regional detention facilities to be built by others. These gaps, the consultants contend, prevent a full assessment of the airport Master Plan Update's environmental impacts.

Agreement effective December 14, 2001 between Port Of Seattle and City of SeaTac for development of Port-owned properties known as Borrow Area #3 (south of South 200th Street, west of 18th Avenue South) and Borrow Area #4 (north of South 200th Street, west and south of 18th Avenue South and South 196th Street). Resolves outstanding

In December 2001, Washington State Department of Ecology drafted a justification to amend its contract with engineering firm Shannon and Wilson, Inc., adding $57,412 to support ongoing review of the Port of Seattle's Natural Resource Mitigation Plan related to the proposed Third Runway project at Sea-Tac Airport. The amendment was needed to cover expert witness testimony before the Pollution Control Hearings Board following an appeal of Ecology's 401 Water Quality Certification, as well as field monitoring of wetland construction and review of revised mitigation documents. Funding for the contract was provided through an interagency agreement with the Port of Seattle and was not approved by the Port Commission until December 11, 2001.