At issue is the clean water certification issued by the state Department of Ecology. The certification covered the Port's plan to mitigate environmental impacts of some construction projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The permit is required if the airport is to receive another, and final, permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"The Hearings Board made a legal error in deciding to issue the stay," says Linda Strout, chief legal officer for the Port of Seattle. "The board created its own standard for granting the stay, rather than using the standard set in state law."

The stay was issued at the request of the Airport Communities Coalition. The group, comprised of Sea-Tac's neighboring communities, has battled airport expansion for year. A full hearing on the ACC's appeal of the certification is scheduled for March.

In its stay, the board redefined the phrase "likelihood of success" to mean that an appellant has a "justiciable argument and that the parties disagree on the issues."

"The Board's interpretation would appear to favor a stay in any contested matter," said Strout. "Their approach essentially ascribes no meaning to the word 'likelihood.'"

The appeal was filed in Thurston County Superior Court. No hearing date has been set.

"We are committed to meeting the highest environmental standards in our construction projects," said Gina Marie Lindsey, Managing Director of Aviation for the Port. "We are confident that we will prevail when all evidence is presented at the full hearing in March."