EPA halts Dworshak project

LEWISTON (AP) - Work by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to add nutrients to Dworshak Reservoir has been stalled while the agencies try to secure permits from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Idaho Department of Fish and Game hope the experimental fertilization project will boost the growth of phytoplankton in the reservoir so kokanee, a prized sport fish, will grow larger. But in May, Orofino resident Ron Hanes filed a notice of intent to sue the agencies, saying they didn't have the proper permits and that the nutrients were boosting the growth of toxic blue-green algae blooms.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently informed the other two agencies that they need a permit to put nitrogen in the reservoir.

"The reason we are stopping now is because EPA recently said, 'Hey, you do need a permit after all,"' Corps spokesman Bruce Henrickson told The Lewiston Tribune.

Obtaining a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit could take as long as a year, Henrickson said.

Joe DuPont, regional fish manager for the Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife, says in the meantime, the agencies could be forced to use less data than they'd hoped when they decide whether to continue the program long-term.

The project began in 2007. Each summer, a corps-operated barge travels the length of the reservoir, spreading ammonia nitrate in the water. Biologists originally hoped to continue the work this summer and then analyze the cumulative effects, deciding next year whether the pilot effort would continue.

Over the past few years some visitors to the popular reservoir have reported seeing more blue green algae there and getting rashes after swimming.

Others have sought to link steelhead disease outbreaks at Dworshak National Fish Hatchery to the project. Agency officials contend the nutrients they are adding are helping to reduce blue green algae blooms that can become toxic and they expect the pause in the project will make things worse.