TagThird Runway(1068)

In an April 2001 letter to the Washington State Department of Ecology, Northwest Hydraulic Consultants raised serious concerns about the adequacy of a low streamflow analysis conducted for the proposed third runway expansion at Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport. The firm argued that Ecology's March 2001 review memo effectively endorsed the study's methods and conclusions without addressing significant technical flaws, including the use of future rather than existing basin conditions and the failure to account for impacts from gravel mining, lagoon lining programs, and embankment seepage. The consultants, representing the Airport Communities Coalition, requested that Ecology revisit its review, consider all submitted technical comments, and require the airport's applicant to formally respond to outstanding concerns before any regulatory certification was granted.

In this April 11, 2001 letter, Washington State Department of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons responds to attorney Kevin Stock regarding concerns raised by the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) about the Port of Seattle's proposed Third Runway. Ecology agrees to host a technical meeting with ACC experts to examine whether Third Runway infrastructure could create pathways for contaminants from the Airport Operations and Maintenance Area (AOMA) to proposed runway sites, but declines to halt the 401 water quality certification process pending completion of a separate groundwater study. Ecology assures the ACC that it will not approve or deny the Third Runway projects until a 'pathway' analysis addressing contamination concerns is completed.

Revised draft meeting notes from April 9, 2001 technical meeting on 401 Permit Decision-Making for Sea-Tac International Airport Third Runway, prepared by Rachel McCrea of Floyd & Snider Inc. Attendees included John Drabek and Ann Kenny (Dept. of Ecology), Keith Smith (Port of Seattle), Kelly Whiting (King County), Alan Black (HNTB), Paul Fendt and Tom

A 2001 internal email from King County staff puts stormwater storage volumes for the Third Runway project (3RW) into everyday perspective. It compares proposed retention ponds and vaults to familiar landmarks: Pond D would hold the equivalent of over 12 Olympic-size swimming pools, and the largest vault considered (88 acre-feet) would cover a football field with 80 feet of water—roughly an 8-story building. The email also notes that 0.1 cubic feet per second of water flow is equivalent to about five garden hoses running at full pressure.

Final draft meeting notes prepared by Rachel McCrea of Floyd & Snider Inc. from a April 4, 2001 technical meeting on low streamflow impact analysis for the Sea-Tac Airport Third Runway 401 Permit Decision-Making process. Attendees included representatives from Washington Dept. of Ecology (Ann Kenny, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Dave Garland), King County (Kelly Whiting), EarthTech (Rick

This 2001 draft report by Parametrix, Inc. describes a water quality study conducted for the Port of Seattle to assess the feasibility of meeting state water quality standards following construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The study focused on developing a site-specific water-effect ratio (WER) for copper in Miller, Walker, and Des Moines Creeks by conducting toxicity bioassays on stormwater samples collected during storm events. The report summarizes results from initial screening and range-finding phases, with the final site-specific water quality standard still pending completion at the time of publication.

In this March 30, 2001 letter, attorney Kevin L. Stock of Helsell Fetterman writes to Washington State Department of Ecology Director Tom Fitzsimmons on behalf of the Airport Communities Coalition, confirming agreements reached at a March 27 meeting regarding Sea-Tac Airport expansion. The letter asserts that Ecology's 1999 Agreed Order with the Port of Seattle must be fulfilled before a Section 401 water quality certification can legally be issued, and confirms Ecology's commitment to hold a follow-up technical meeting with key staff and legislators present. The ACC argues that strong scientific and legal grounds preclude issuing a defensible 401 certification until the Port completes its obligations under the Agreed Order.

These draft meeting notes from March 28, 2001 document a technical meeting regarding the 401 Permit Decision-Making process for Sea-Tac International Airport's Third Runway project. The meeting covered feedback on stormwater management deliverables, including corrections to hydrological modeling tables and figures, as well as scoping discussions for upcoming deliverables related to vault structural feasibility and maintenance documentation. Representatives from the Department of Ecology, King County, Port of Seattle, and several consulting firms attended, with follow-up meetings scheduled for early April 2001.

Draft meeting notes prepared by Rachel McCrea of Floyd & Snider Inc. for a 401 Permit Decision-Making Technical Meeting held March 26, 2001, regarding the Sea-Tac International Airport Third Runway. Attendees included John Drabek and Ann Kenny (Dept. of Ecology), Keith Smith (Port Of Seattle), Kelly Whiting (King County), Paul Fendt and Tom Atkins (Parametrix),

Memorandum from Michael Bailey, P.E., Hart Crowser, Inc. to Jim Thomson, P.E., HNTB Corporation, dated March 26, 2001, documenting post-earthquake reconnaissance at the Sea-Tac Airport (STIA) Third Runway Project site (project J-4978-06) following the February 28, 2001, Nisqually earthquake. Two reconnaissance visits on March 1 and March 2, 2001 by Hart Crowser engineers Doug Lindquist