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RCAA Library

Welcome to the RCAA Library. The library contains articles, studies, and presentations on airport pollution and expansion issues generally and on the proposed Sea-Tac Expansion in particular. The documents listed below are only a small part of RCAA's extensive print library. Contact the RCAA office for more information. A complete list, year by year, of the print library's contents is in preparation & will be posted here shortly. In order to read documents in Adobe Acrobat format, go to Adobe.com and download the free Adobe Acrobat reader.


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The library is organized into the following sections:

(To return to this section list, click on the section head.)


Air Pollution
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Alternatives, Purpose & Need
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BFI (King County International Airport, KCIA--generally known as "Boeing Field")
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Chronologies
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Community Impacts
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(This section discusses projected socio-economic impacts of Sea-Tac expansion including changes in land uses, impacts on home ownership, local government revenues, impacts on residential property values and property tax revenues, effects on community facilities and services, educational impacts on children as well as impacts on School District revenues. This section recommends steps to mitigate community impacts associated with Sea-Tac expansion.)

 

Earthquake and Seismic Issues
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Sea-Tac Airport is subject to both deep earthquakes, such as the Nisqually quake of 2001. and shallow earthquakes from the Seattle Fault zone which is a just a few miles north of the airport. Shallow fault earthquakes will cause considerably more damage that the .68 quake of 2001 which wrecked the air control tower at Sea-Tac and caused a large part of the KCIA runway, built on fill, to sink and crack. There is concern that the 170 foot high "great wall of Sea-Tac" that would be built for the third runway would be subject to catastophic failure covering wetlands and neighborhoods downhill to the west of the walls. Such a failure could also destroy parts of the second runway. Presently, there is a debate on how much of the unstable soils under the present site should be removed and what sort of a foundation is needed. (See also, the wetlands section.)

Economics, Costs, & Financing
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Enviromental Impacts
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Comment letter to Army Corps/Ecology re Port of Seattle Section401/404, 2/2001
  • RCAA Scoping Comments to Draft Environmental Impacts Statement (DEIS). (A good mini­training course in issues, as well.)
  • RCAA Comments on Sea­Tac Masterplan Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). (without appendices)
  • RCAA Comments on Sea­Tac Masterplan Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft SEIS).
  • Seattle Community Federation Comments on Sea­Tac Masterplan Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Draft SEIS).

    •  

    Environmental Justice
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    • Presidential Executive Order #12898 on Environmental Justice. [acrobat 20 Kb] The purpose of Presidential Order #12989 is to focus attention on federal agencies on the human health and environmental conditions in minority communities and low-income communities with the goal of achieving environmental justice (EJ); to foster non­discrimination in federal programs that substantially affect human health or the environment; to give minority communities and low-income communities greater opportunities for public participation in, and access to public information on, matters relating to human health and the environment.

    • EPA Environmental Justice Page

    Health, Education, & Safety
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    Law & Legal Decisions
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    Newsletter
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    Truth in Aviation Oct. 31, 2003 (Webletter Vol. 10, #2)


    Noise
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    Water Pollution, Wetlands
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    Background

    Documents The documents below are organized by date with latest date on top. When several documents were issued at about the same time and were related (for example, a permit and appeal of the permit), the documents were grouped together with a brief explanation of the events.

    Three principle permits govern wetlands affected by the Airport expansion and water pollution from the airport: Section 401, Issued by Ecology which certifies that the Port is complying with State Water Quality Standards: the Section 404 Permit, issued by the US Army Corps of Enginners, which allows the Port to fill wetlands to create a 3rd runway; and the NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination certification, issued by the Deparment of Ecology every five years. This permit allows major polluters to continue to pollute in excess of what is allowed by the Clean Water Act of 1972, provided they meet conditions and follow a timetable. The Airport's NPDES Permit came up for renewal in 2002, but a new permit was not issued until September of 2003.

    ~~~

    Opening, Response, & Reply Briefs On Case before Washington State Supreme Court on Pollution Control Hearings Board Ruling and on Environmental ACC appeal concerning "Dirty Fill Bill". Opening briefs filed September 11, 2003. Responses filed by October 18, 2003. Hearing November 18, 2003.

    -ACC/CASE Reply Brief

    -ACC/CASE Response Brief

    -PCHB Response Brief

    -Ecology Response Brief

    -Port Response Brief

    No. 73419-4 THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON Opening Brief of Petitioner Airport Communities Coalition

    No. 73419-4 THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON Opening Brief of Petitioner Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion

    No. 73419-4 THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON Opening Brief of Port of Seattle

    No. 73419-4 THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON Opening Brief of Department of Ecology

    No. 73419-4 THE SUPREME COURT OF WASHINGTON Brief of Environmental Organizations Amicus Curiae

    ~~~

    NPDES Permit Issued by Washington State Department of Ecology
    on September 4, 2003. Appeals due by October 2003.

    10/06/03 Puget Soundkeeper Alliance Appeal of Sea-Tac Airport's NPDES Permit [acrobat file, 133 kb]

    10/__/03 Port of Seattle Appeal of Sea-Tac Airport's NPDES Permit [acrobat file, 160 KB]

    (10/5/03) Case/ACC Appeal of Sea-Tac Airport's NPDES Permit [acrobat file, 19 pages, 187 KB]

    09/04/03 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Waste Discharge Permit No. WA-002465-1, State of Washington, Department of Ecology [Acrobat.pdf, 88 pages 1.24MB]

    09/04/03 Fact Sheet on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Waste Discharge Permit No. WA-002465-1, State of Washington, Department of Ecology [Acrobat.pdf, 94 pages 2.56MB]

    09/04/03 Summary: Responses to Comments on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Waste Discharge Permit No. WA-002465-1, State of Washington, Department of Ecology [Acrobat.pdf, 32 pages 487KB]

    ~~~

    The Section 404 Wetlands Permit, Issued by the Army Corps of Engineers, was appealed by the Airport Communities Coalition to Federal District Court. Judge Barbara Rothstein dismissed the appeal in August, 2003, and ACC filed a Motion to Reconsider in September 2003

    8/2003 Airport Communities Coalition, Motion to Reconsider 8/19/03 Ruling on Section 404 Permit Appeal

    8/19/03 Decision, U.S. District Court on ACC, State Attorney General challenge of Armys Corps Section 404 Permit [acrobat.pdf, 4.92 mb, 43 pages]

    07/22/03 Brief of Amicus Curiae, Washington State Attorney General in ACC challenge of Army Corps Section 404 Permit [Acrobat.pdf, 573KB, 11 pages]

    ~~~

    Draft NPDES Permit was issued for public comments, due 4/15/03

    4/21/03 Comment of RCAA on Draft NPDES Permit

    2/28/03 Draft NPDES National Discharge Elimination Permit (Comments due 4/15/03)
    2/28/03 Public Notice
     2/28/03 Draft Facts Sheet

    ~~~

     

    US Army Corps of Engineers Decision on Section 404 Wetlands permit December 14, 2002. This decision was issued in many sections listed below. (Except where noted, the documents below are all in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.

    Related documents:

     

    ~~~

    Section 401 Permit, issued by the Department of Ecology and Appealed to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board. The Hearings Board ruled. The legislature attempted to override this ruling with the infamous "dirty fill bill." The ruling was appealed by the Port, the fill bill issue was folded into the case by the Washington State Supreme Court (See Sept. 2003)

    Pollution Controls Hearings Board Decision August 12, 2002 (134 pages)

    Analysis of Pollution Control Hearings Board 8/12/02 decision on Section 401 permit application by Kevin Stock Attorney for ACC (Airport Communities Coalition)

    ~~~

    February of 2001 comments on the Section 401-404 Permit Application

    We are gradually getting the comments up on the web. Paper copies of the comments are available at the RCAA Office. Email RCAA or call the office (206)824-3120 for a current catalog.

    • Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (These are general comments that cover the broad issues, a good introduction)
    • Airport Communities Coalition (Consists of a variety of expert comments, well worth reading)
    • Individuals and other organizations (We have a large number of comments from individuals and have selected a sampling here of those that cover interesting issues or provide special expertise)
     

    December of 1999 comments on the Section 401-404 Permit Application

    • Regional Commission on Airport Affairs's Comments on the permit application of the Port of Seattle for a Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a Section 401 permits from the Washington State Department of Ecology. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reference No. 1996-4-02325)
    • Airport Communities Coalition Comments on the permit application of the Port of Seattle for a Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a Section 401 permits from the Washington State Department of Ecology. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reference No. 1996-4-02325)



    The primary goal of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. Sec.1251 et seq., is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." In keeping with that goal, Section 404 of the CWA regulates the disposal of dredged and fill material into "waters of the United States", including wetlands. Activities which destroy wetlands, such as drainage, flooding, pumping, and burning are regulated under the CWA if they entail discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the U.S. The following links provide additional information concerning wetlands.