River cleanup reaction mixed

POST FALLS - Depending on who you ask, the final Spokane River cleanup plan announced Friday is either the way to make the water resemble a clear Rocky Mountain stream or it's still a murky mess.

The plan requires waste dischargers on both sides of the border, including the cities of Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene and the Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board, to reduce phosphorous levels by about 90 percent and Avista to reduce dissolved oxygen in Lake Spokane over the next 10 years.

Washington Ecology and EPA officials touted the plan as the culmination of 12 years of tackling pollution and a major step in making the river a better place for fish and people.

"These are among the lowest standards in the country as far as phosphorous limits," said Ecology's Dave Moore.

Moore said the limits may not be reached with advanced technology at treatment plants alone, but they should be achievable if residents and other polluters do their part with activities such as reducing use of trash disposals and using environmentally friendly detergents.

But Post Falls City Administrator Eric Keck said the plan, which received about 500 comments in draft form, isn't as peachy on the Idaho side.

He said the city intends to file an appeal to Ecology over what it believes are unfair wastewater load allocations between Washington and Idaho dischargers. Washington's phosphorous load limit is 42 micrograms per liter, while Idaho's is 36.

"We're not opposed to doing our part in the cleanup, but we want it done in a fair and equitable manner," he said. "We'll use every administrative or legal resource we have to make sure we're treated fairly.

"If we can't come to an agreement, we might as well put up a 'Closed for Business' sign with no more growth because we're in a bind from the standpoint of meeting compliance to their level of treatment."

Cities have been running pilot tests with new technologies to try to reach the new standard.

Idaho dischargers have lobbied for a seasonal average with the new standard rather than a monthly one, but are not optimistic it will be granted during the EPA permit process.

The river and lake contain too much phosphorus and other substances that act like fertilizers, causing algae and other aquatic plants to grow and thrive. When the plants decompose, they use up dissolved oxygen that fish need to breathe.

In addition, unsightly algae blooms can become toxic and cause nuisance smells or human skin irritations. They can make Lake Spokane at the end of the river unhealthy for swimming and compromise its ecological balance.

Keck said Idaho gets pollution credits for eliminating pollution sources like Washington does. Idaho also does not get credit for the dissipation of phosphorous before it even hits the state line. It doesn't make sense, Keck said, that Idaho dischargers have to carry a more stringent load limit when they're farther away from Lake Spokane than those in Washington.

"We're having to carry the load, and we're not even close to the lake," Keck said.

The pollution plan, called a TMDL or total maximum daily load, is for the critical months of March to October. Proposed phosphorous limits were scrapped two years ago after EPA admitted that a bi-state approach to the plan was not previously used.

The plan also calls for reduction of "non-point" pollution sources such as septic systems, farms, home fertilizers and stormwater runoff. Avista is responsible to help because it operates dams on the Spokane River.

The plan will now be considered for the next 30 days by the EPA, which will issue draft discharge permits in Idaho for public review this spring. EPA will issue final permits late this year after public comment.

The plan includes a monitoring program for the river and lake so improvements can be reviewed after 10 years.

Dave Croxton of the EPA said the plan is the result of a collaborative effort between the states.

"While EPA has not yet reviewed the final (plan), we have closely monitored its development and recognize that the Department of Ecology has mounted a truly Herculean effort to advance, improve and protect the Spokane River," Croxton said.