Sea-Tac Airport Wants To Move Wetland 8 Miles

The Port of Seattle is proposing to rebuild an 11-acre wetland that lies in the path of the proposed third runway for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

But the man-made wetland, which would cost $8 million, would be eight miles away in Auburn.

It can’t be relocated in the same watershed as the existing wetland because the Federal Aviation Administration tries to keep marshes - which attract birds that could threaten airplane safety - at least two miles away from airports. The port still is awaiting government approval for the new runway.

Under the planned wetland swap, the city of Auburn would get a 25-acre bird refuge and 20 acres of land for storm-water control.

“It’s ridiculous to move the wetland to Auburn,” says Debi Desmarais, a Burien resident who opposes a third runway. “We’re losing the functions and Auburn’s getting something it doesn’t need.”

“It’s an odd situation,” says Auburn city Councilman Fred Poe.

Federal environmental law requires developers or agencies to compensate for destroyed wetlands by building new ones as close as possible to the original sites.

Given the FAA concerns - and the lack of closer available land unless homes were destroyed to make room for a new wetland - the port found that “the biggest bang for the environmental dollar was Auburn,” said Mike Feldman, development and maintenance director at the airport.

If the plan proceeds, it could be the farthest a wetland has been moved in Washington, said Erik Stockdale, the Ecology Department wetlands specialist who is considering whether to approve the plan.

Port district officials say other mitigation efforts - on-site drainage ditches, water-filtration systems and habitat restoration - should more than compensate for the loss of the wetland, part of 700 acres that would be covered if the third runway is built.

Port commissioners are to vote on the proposal Tuesday.