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Department of Ecology News Release - Sept. 4, 2003
03-179
BELLEVUE - Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will be required to provide its highest-ever level of environmental protection to nearby streams under a new stormwater permit issued today by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology).
The five-year permit will regulate how storm water is managed on the airport property, which is operated by the Port of Seattle. The three-part permit addresses flight-line and industrial operations, general stormwater controls and how storm water will be controlled around construction projects.
"This permit places Sea-Tac Airport at the cutting edge of controlling stormwater pollution," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, a water-quality supervisor for Ecology. "It sets important standards and represents a significant investment and a serious commitment to clean water."The airport operates an on-site treatment system for storm water that drains from 297 acres of tarmac and taxi-ways. The system removes oil drippings, de-icing chemicals and other pollutants before releasing the treated waste water to Puget Sound through an outfall line shared with the Midway Sewer District.
The new permit prohibits bypassing the industrial treatment system during major storms and releasing untreated storm water into area creeks. The port recently expanded a storage pond to prevent such releases. To meet more-stringent and additional pollutant limits for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), the port will build a pipeline to transport treated industrial storm water that doesn't meet these limits to the King County sewage-treatment plant in Renton for further processing.
Under the permit, storm water from the airport's runways, extensive roads, parking areas and roofs must meet strict pollution limits before flowing directly to area creeks. Parts of the airport property drain into the Lake Reba stormwater facility, which also serves nearby freeways and city streets. The port must use control measures known as "best management practices" on run-off that drains into Lake Reba, which empties into Miller Creek.
The port also must monitor pollutants and their toxic effects in area creeks that receive airport storm water. The monitoring will help measure the effectiveness of the permit's pollution-prevention and control program.
The permit's construction section places strict limits on pollution in storm runoff from several projects planned or under way on airport property, including the proposed third runway.
Non-industrial waste water -- coming from sources such as restrooms, food preparation and rental car washes -- flows to the Midway Sewer District treatment plant via sewer lines.
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Contact: Larry Altose, public information manager, 425-649-7009;
pager, 206-663-1785
Ed Abbasi, water quality permit manager, 425-649-7227
For more information:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permits/northwest_permits.html
(The permit documents will be posted as soon as possible.)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
