Portspin

January 14, 2004
Vol.10, No. 3

Portspin: "Mitigation" Sandcastles

We've been out on the World Wide Web, visiting the Sea-Tac Airport site, where one can read up on the all the wonderful things that the Port of Seattle plans to do to mitigate harm from the third-runway project.

It almost sounds good, till you realize that the Port is still fighting hard AGAINST doing most of this stuff. They're in not one but THREE legal appeals, always trying to do less than the law requires. In the Supreme Court, they're arguing for the right to bring in fill material that is contaminated beyond legal, established criteria, & they're arguing that the criteria are too stringent. Before the Pollution Control Hearings Board, they're resisting Ecology's new, tougher requirements for pollution control. And in the U.S. District Court, they have vigorously defended the weak, incomplete wetlands permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.

And most of the good things they talk about have not been completed – have not even been started, are not funded, are not even budgeted as far we can tell. The one serious project that is moving along is the construction of artificial wetlands – in Auburn, in the Green River basin. If these wetlands work (big “if”), they will do absolutely nothing for water quality in Miller, Walker, or Des Moines Creeks.

So, if while you're cruising on the Internet you happen to stop at the Airport website to read about their environmental mitigation, read with a skeptical eye. Ask yourself: Will the Port actually do this, if they win their court cases? Is there money in the bank to build the expensive stuff? How does any of this help to keep bad stuff like arsenic, copper, zinc, gasoline, & de-icing fluid from entering the local streams?

And isn't it ironic that the Port takes credit for future work that it will do only because it has been forced to, after it has been dragged through the courts kicking & screaming every step of the way.

	January 14, 2004 Vol.10, No. 3 Portspin: "Mitigation" Sandcastles We've been out on the World Wide Web, visiting the Sea-Tac Airport site, where one can read up on the all the wonderful things that the Port of Seattle plans to do to mitigate harm from the third-runway project. It almost sounds good, till you realize that the Port is still fighting hard AGAINST doing most of this stuff. They're in not one but THREE legal appeals, always trying to do less than the law requires. In the Supreme Court, they're arguing for the right to bring in fill material that is contaminated beyond legal, established criteria, & they're arguing that the criteria are too stringent. Before the Pollution Control Hearings Board, they're resisting Ecology's new, tougher requirements for pollution control. And in the U.S. District Court, they have vigorously defended the weak, incomplete wetlands permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. And most of the good things they talk about have not been completed – have not even been started, are not funded, are not even budgeted as far we can tell. The one serious project that is moving along is the construction of artificial wetlands – in Auburn, in the Green River basin. If these wetlands work (big “if”), they will do absolutely nothing for water quality in Miller, Walker, or Des Moines Creeks. So, if while you're cruising on the Internet you happen to stop at the Airport website to read about their environmental mitigation, read with a skeptical eye. Ask yourself: Will the Port actually do this, if they win their court cases? Is there money in the bank to build the expensive stuff? How does any of this help to keep bad stuff like arsenic, copper, zinc, gasoline, & de-icing fluid from entering the local streams? And isn't it ironic that the Port takes credit for future work that it will do only because it has been forced to, after it has been dragged through the courts kicking & screaming every step of the way.	Port Website On Expansion Plans

Home \| What's the Latest? \| Links \|Library\| Newsletter \| About Us