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Department of Ecology Press Release - October 17, 2005
05-255
BELLEVUE - Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) will provide its highest-ever level of environmental protection to nearby streams and Puget Sound, under a revised stormwater permit issued by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Ecology's revision carries out a directive from the state Pollution Control Hearings Board to reconsider two key parts of the permit, originally issued in 2003. The Port of Seattle, which owns the airport, and two citizens groups appealed the original version.
Sea-Tac, Citizens Against Airport Expansion (CASE) and the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA) signed an accord in August to agree on key changes proposed by Ecology.
"We listened carefully and worked hard with both sides," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, a manager in Ecology's water-quality program. "Each had appealed for different reasons, and in the end, they agreed to cooperate to protect water quality and to accept the revised permit. We applaud this leap forward."
The permit covers all stormwater runoff on the entire Sea-Tac airport property, including the Third Runway construction project, general stormwater runoff from roads and roofs, and treatment of de-icing compounds that drain off 297 acres of taxiways and aprons. The key revisions affect general stormwater and the de-icing compound treatment system.
The revised permit sets tighter standards for the airport's plant that treats water contaminated by de-icing compounds and empties into Puget Sound. The airport is building a pipeline to King County's wastewater treatment plant in Renton to handle busy de-icing periods that generate higher contamination. The revised permit sets a lower trigger for the airport to divert flow from its plant to Renton, reducing de-icing related discharges to Puget Sound by 98 percent per year from current levels.
The airport will treat all general storm water discharges to meet state water-quality standards, under the permit's other key change, which re-designates Lake Reba as a natural water body. The permit originally viewed the lake, which is partially backed up by a dike, as a detention pond. It receives a significant share of Sea-Tac's storm water runoff.
The permit - which Ecology upgrades and renews every five years - is available on the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/permits/northwest_permits.html . (Scroll down to Port of Seattle, Seattle - Tacoma Airport NPDES Permit Modification)
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Contact: Larry Altose, public information officer, 425-649-7009
For more information:
Ecology's Sep. 4, 2003 news release on the original permit contains additional background information: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2003news/2003-179.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
