Port Withdraws, Will Resubmit, Permit Request for Third Runway

More time needed for agency review

(Seattle)--The Port of Seattle has formally withdrawn a permit application to the Washington State Department of Ecology for environmental mitigation work to be done in connection with construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The application will be resubmitted to the Department sometime in the next two weeks.

The decision to withdraw and resubmit was made this week, when it became clear that more time was needed for the permitting process to work.

"We are committed to doing this project well, with all due regard for the environment," said M.R. (Mic) Dinsmore. "We will not rush this through, nor will we ask the review agencies to rush their work."

Dinsmore added that there are only a few issues remaining to be resolved with permit reviewers.

"We're confident we can resolve those issues with a few more weeks' concerted effort," Dinsmore said.

Among the remaining issues are:

The size of detention ponds necessary to control storm water runoff from the project area;
Flow augmentation, i.e. assuring adequate stream flow levels in creeks adjacent to the project.
Whether the use of dirt from a site the Port already owns could affect an adjacent wetland.

Dinsmore stressed that permit reviewers have found no fatal flaws in the Port's plan to mitigate impacts to about 18 acres of wetlands in the project area.

"The reviewers are simply asking for more detail on a few specific issues. We will provide that as quickly as possible," said Dinsmore.

State and federal laws don't allow Ecology and the Port to negotiate an extension of the Sept. 29 permit deadline. The only way for the agencies to get more time was for the Port to withdraw and resubmit.

The Port's action has the effect of a simultaneous withdrawal of a companion permit before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will likewise be resubmitted.

There is no estimate of how the withdrawal might impact either construction timetable or cost of the planned runway.

"Any delay costs money," said Gina Marie Lindsey, Managing Director of Aviation for the Port of Seattle. "But it's not enough to just do this project well. The regulatory agencies must have full confidence that they're making the right decision. We want to spend the additional time necessary for them to be comfortable issuing this permit."

"If the Department of Ecology wants additional time to make sure this project is environmentally sound then by all means the agency should get the time it needs," said Port of Seattle Commission President Jack Block. "Our priority is protecting the environment as we build the air capacity that this region needs. We are working closely with Ecology to clear up the remaining issues as soon as we can."

The total project area is approximately 500 acres, and involves using 17 million cubic yards of fill to create an embankment on which the third runway can be constructed. The 18 acres of wetlands involved are in small parcels scattered throughout a formerly residential area west of the airport.