EPA: Unfair use of taxpayer $

Those who have taken a special interest are aware of the EPA's plan for a cleanup of the upper Coeur d'Alene River Basin planned to cost $1.3 billion in today's dollars and extend for 50 to 90 years.

No human health issues are being addressed. Rather, the effort is undertaken to improve habitat - a worthy goal if the plan were reasonable in both cost and time; however, much of the planned work will likely disturb existing pollution - the 10 to 12 miles of lining under the river, for example.

This plan is a major boondoggle which will cost the taxpayers $1.3 billion or more and drive a stake in the heart of the slowly recovering mining industry. Particularly offensive is EPA's taxpayer-paid public relations campaign to sell an unsuspecting public on this taxpayer rip-off. You have likely seen the repeated half page ads in the Coeur d'Alene Press promoting this travesty.

Call the EPA local office at 665-0458 asking them to quit spending our dollars to promote spending our dollars. Written comments can be sent via e-mail:

http://www.epa.gov/region10/pdf/sites/bunker_hill/roda_faq_072910.pdf.

BRYAN TAYLOR

Coeur d'Alene