TagWater Quality(478)

Desk Manual for Washington State Department of Ecology’s Federal Permit Team covering Section 401 Water Quality Certifications and Coastal Zone Management Act (CZM) consistency determinations. Covers SEPA compliance, JARPA application procedures, public notice and hearings, permit review timelines, waivers, 303(d)-listed waters, wetlands mitigation, sediment management standards, Puget Sound Dredged Disposal Analysis (PSDDA), NPDES coordination, antidegradation,

Internal email from Tom Luster to Kevin Fitzpatrick dated January 12, 2000, discussing the legal distinction between Clean Water Act Section 401(d) and Section 402(a) as applied to Sea-Tac Airport water quality (WQ) and State Environmental Policy Act (SEA/SEPA) policies. Email quotes statutory language verbatim: 401(d) uses mandatory ‘shall’ language for effluent limitations and monitoring

Email dated January 3, 2000 from Raymond Hellwig (WQ Program) to Tom Luster (SEA Program), cc’d to Ron Langley, Dave Garland, Erik Stockdale, Gordon White, Jeannie Summerhays, John Glynn, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Paula Ehlers, Megan White, and Dan Silver. Responds to Luster’s December 23, 1999 message regarding premature death of Coho salmon in Des Moines Creek

A December 1999 environmental assessment prepared for Citizens Against Seatac Expansion (CASE) concludes that the Port of Seattle failed to provide sufficient scientific evidence to assure compliance with Clean Water Act water quality standards for its Seattle-Tacoma International Airport expansion project. The report found that stormwater runoff from the airport was causing ongoing violations of toxic substances criteria — particularly for copper and zinc — in nearby Miller and Des Moines Creeks, with pollutant levels sometimes exceeding EPA limits by more than tenfold. The author argues that Ecology therefore lacked a scientifically defensible basis to issue a Section 401 water quality certification for the proposed wetland-filling and stormwater management improvements.

In November 1999, Highline Water District and the Port of Seattle reached a settlement agreement resolving competing claims over two water rights near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Under the deal, the Port retained rights to Well #1 for uses including Des Moines Creek flow augmentation tied to the proposed third runway project, while the District secured rights to a replacement for Well #2 to continue providing drinking water to its 58,000 customers. The District emphasized that the agreement was strictly about protecting its water rights and service area, and that it took no official position on the controversial third runway expansion.

A November 30, 1999 letter from Port of Seattle's Aviation Project Management Group to Seattle Public Utilities reports the fourth and final quarterly stormwater monitoring results for the Sea-Tac Airport North Employees' Parking Lot (NEPL). Testing of water samples collected throughout 1999 found pollutant levels—including metals, hydrocarbons, and suspended solids—well below Washington State residential water supply standards. Based on these results, the Port proposed ending the monitoring program and invited the City of Seattle to confer on whether further monitoring was warranted under their Interlocal Agreement.

This October 1999 draft document outlines resolved and unresolved regulatory issues related to a Sea-Tac Airport expansion project, focusing primarily on stormwater management, wetland mitigation, and water quality concerns. Key unresolved issues include compliance with Ecology and King County Stormwater Manuals, the role of a proposed Regional Detention Facility (RDF) in wetlands, de-icing impacts on dissolved oxygen levels, and instream flow reductions in Des Moines Creek. Additional concerns involve NPDES permit compliance, clean fill criteria, legal proceedings before the Pollution Control Hearings Board, and whether a shoreline permit is needed for an Auburn mitigation site.

A October 1999 laboratory analysis report from Aquatic Research Incorporated details water sample testing conducted for Parametrix/Port of Seattle. One water sample collected on October 8-11, 1999 was tested for total suspended solids, petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel and motor oil), and total metals including cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. Results showed low levels of contaminants, with zinc detected at 0.102 mg/l and copper at 0.0070 mg/l, while diesel and motor oil levels fell below detection limits.