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The permit is being reviewed
by Ecology’s
legal staff—obviously with the hope of making it “bulletproof” against
appeals to the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB).
There has been a long history of appeals of prior versions
of
the
permit,
always
by
the
Port
of
Seattle hoping to weaken the permit,
sometimes by the neighbors through CASE trying to secure
stronger environmental protection, & sometimes
by both sides at once. The actual permit is what emerges
from the PCHB appeals—if citizens do not appeal,
the public has "no place at the table" while the Port and
Ecology cut deals in private.
Cities downstream
from the Airport and interested citizens, will be watching
carefully to see what Ecology finally decides on several
key points. Truth
in Aviation will post a bulletin in our “What’s the Latest?” section
as soon as the permit has been analyzed by RCAA and CASE.
Perhaps the most important issue
is timing. Neighbors want rapid implementation of the
most modern & effective
ways of treating runoff from the Airport. As usual, the
Port wants as long a delay as it can get. The neighbors
also
want
stringent rules, in place without delay, to keep toxic,
fish-killing substances, such as copper & zinc, out
of local streams. The Port argues that less-stringent
rules will be adequate.
It’s important to take samples of polluted
water, & require compliance with pollution control
standards before the Airport’s wastewater is mixed with
discharges from other sources or with uncontaminated ground
water or surface water – “at the end of the pipe”, as environmental
experts say. The Port resists that sort of sampling, partly
because it would be inconvenient at some places. CASE argues
strongly that all Airport runoff should be sampled “at
the end of the pipe”.
Public comments on an earlier draft
of the permit also focussed on the problems caused by deicers
and anti-icers that are sprayed on aircraft, runways and
taxiways. The deicing/anti-icing chemicals degrade water
quality by consuming oxygen as they decompose. The principal
component of deicers is glycol—well-documented as
being very toxic to aquatic life. These products also contain
additives that can harmful.
For additional points of interest,
see the comments
of RCAA [Adobe reader file 128K] submitted to the
Department of Ecology
on 21 April 2003. A report on the public hearing
on the draft permit, held in late March is found in our
19
April 2003 issue.
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