TagThird Runway(1084)

Declaration by Dr. John Strand, Principal Biologist for Columbia Biological Assessments, filed in support of ACC’s motion for stay before the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB No. 01-133). Challenges Ecology’s Section 401 Water Quality Certification (Order #1996-4-02325) issued August 10, 2001, for Port Of Seattle’s Master Plan Update Improvements at STIA (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport). Strand

Declaration by Kevin L. Stock, attorney for Airport Communities Coalition (ACC), filed in PCHB Case No. 01-133, in support of ACC’s motion for stay of Section 401 Certification No. 1996-4-02325 and CZMA concurrency statement issued August 10, 2001 by Washington Department of Ecology, related to construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Stock

In September 2001, attorneys for the Port of Seattle filed an appeal of Water Quality Certification #1996-4-02325, issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology for improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, including construction of a third runway. Simultaneously, the Port and the Department of Ecology filed a Stipulated Agreement and Agreed Order of Dismissal, resolving the Port's appeal by agreeing to amend the water quality certification. The Port requested that the Pollution Control Hearings Board accept the stipulation, dismiss the Port's appeal, and allow the separate Airport Communities Coalition appeal to proceed using the revised certification.

A September 2001 internal email summarizes a Stipulated Agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle regarding the third runway construction at Sea-Tac Airport. The agreement clarifies the scope and duration of water quality certification conditions (401 permit), including perpetual wetland mitigation requirements, 15-year wetland monitoring, and rules governing fill material approval and stormwater management. Key changes also address hydrologic monitoring schedules, buffer requirements, and reporting frequency to ensure environmental protections remain in place during and after construction.

Port of Seattle webpage (AR028013) describing Third Runway construction progress at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport). Details include delivery of fill material via temporary on/off ramps connecting South 176th Street and Highway 509, construction of retaining walls, stormwater detention pond, timber noise wall, and shoulder widening along SR-509. Contract for 1.9 million cubic yards of

In September 2001, the Port of Seattle filed a Notice of Appeal before Washington State's Pollution Control Hearings Board, challenging conditions attached to Ecology's §401 Clean Water Act certification for the construction of a third parallel runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The appeal document argues that Ecology's certification already fully protects Washington's water resources and that the project had undergone more than a decade of rigorous planning, environmental review, and judicial scrutiny before receiving approval. The filing was prepared by the law firm Foster Pepper & Shefelman and was shared among legal and agency representatives as a confidential, attorney-client privileged communication tied to ongoing settlement discussions.

In September 2001, representatives from the Port of Seattle and the Washington Attorney General's office exchanged emails negotiating the language of Condition E(1)(b), which governs fill material criteria for an embankment construction project. The proposed language would allow the Port to use a 'drainage layer cover' design and to demonstrate fill suitability through Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) testing as an alternative to standard fill limitations. Under the proposal, SPLP test results would be submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology at least ten business days before any fill placement.

This September 2001 draft settlement agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle addresses conditions attached to a Clean Water Act §401 Certification for the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The agreement clarifies and revises specific environmental conditions — including wetland mitigation, stormwater management, and groundwater monitoring requirements — that would remain in effect during and after construction. The Port agreed to file a formal appeal solely to implement the settlement, after which the parties would jointly request the Pollution Control Hearings Board approve the agreed-upon modifications and dismiss the appeal.

This September 2001 draft settlement agreement between the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Port of Seattle addresses the Port's appeal of a Clean Water Act §401 Certification issued for the construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The agreement clarifies and revises several certification conditions related to wetland mitigation, stormwater management, and groundwater monitoring. Both parties agreed to jointly request that the Pollution Control Hearings Board amend the certification accordingly, after which the Port's appeal would be dismissed.

In August 2001, Washington State's Department of Ecology issued a 401 water quality certification to the Port of Seattle for the proposed SeaTac Third Runway, permitting construction of an 8,500-foot parallel runway involving fill of nearly 20 acres of wetlands and development of 700 acres of upland area. The certification imposed strict stormwater management and wetland mitigation conditions, including 201 acres of wetland creation and riparian restoration. The certification was subsequently appealed by the Airport Communities Coalition on August 23, 2001, with a hearing before the Pollution Control Hearings Board scheduled for March 2002.