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The regulators. To fill wetlands with embankment fill and to move Miller Creek away from the toe of the embankment, the Airport must have approval from state and federal environmental regulators. The project needs one official permit and one official certificate, as laid out in the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The permit is required by sec. 404 of the Act. Such permits are issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. To secure approval from the Engineers, the Port must first secure a certificate from the State, under the provisions of sec. 401 of the CWA, that there is “reasonable assurance” that the project will violate State water–quality standards. The State’s review is conducted by the Department of Ecology. One application covers both processes. Prior proceedings. The Port has tried twice to secure the sec. 401 and sec. 404 approvals, and twice has had to start over. The third application was filed in October 2000. At that time, the Port said that it expected the third application to be OK’d by the two agencies within a very few weeks. That did not happen. The problems. Basically, the environmental engineers must re–think and re–design the entire run–off, stream flow, groundwater, and drainage patterns for Des Moines Creek and for Miller Creek and its tributary Walker Creek, with their associated wetlands, ponds, and lakes. The problems are considerable. Here is our summary of some of the main ones. Embankment fill—contamination. The embankment—which is perhaps one fifth to one fourth completed—requires a…

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