Decision nears on Cougar Bay

After holding a second public hearing on North Idaho Maritime's Cougar Bay encroachment permit, the Idaho Department of Lands will consider the public's cries versus those of the public agency.

North Idaho Maritime has served the Inland Northwest for more than 100 years, offering services like dock repair and removal, fish habitat preservation, shoreline restoration, wreck recovery and emergency services.

In these endeavors, NIM and owner John Condon have worked with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, Board of County Commissioners and community groups to protect waterways.

Citing those relationships, favorable comments from public officials including Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson, state Rep. Jim Addis, state Sen. Don Cheatham, Kootenai County Commissioner Leslie Duncan and KSCO Sheriff Ben Wolfinger have poured in.

Many supported NIM's continued operations on the bay, particularly its dock storage, recovery abilities, and waterways preservation.

"As the mills closed and the lakefront became populated with homes and docks, there became an increased need to supply dock storage," Jacobson said. "This service has been provided for years to both private owners and municipalities. North Idaho Maritime has saved thousands of public tax dollars by repairing and replacing damaged docks."

Residents of Cougar Bay aren't singing the same tune.

Concerns range from pollution risks, aesthetic integrity and recreational usage. Lake Coeur d'Alene's struggle with metal contamination, pilings and debris pollution is an ongoing problem because of the runoff from mining, logging and recreational usage.

"The area of the requested permit is adjacent to a nature preserve area and also in a very shallow area of the lake and could potentially negatively impact the ecological system in the shallow water basin area of the lake," Carol and Vince Duda commented in Wednesday evening's public hearing.

The encroachment permit includes a winter storage area and conjoining work area primarily used to harbor docks for repair, resale and disposal. Part of the permit process's contention has been NIM's unauthorized use of the area since it failed to secure IDL approval in 2008.

"We've spent countless hours, money and the department's time to address this issue," Condon said during Wednesday's hearing. "I've been at this for about 16 years on this lake, and I am yet to find a better place to do this."

IDL Hearing Coordinator Michele Andersen will now take written and verbal comments on the permit into consideration as she evaluates the applicant's adherence to the Idaho statute. Based on Andersen's recommendation, Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller is expected to issue a final decision before the end of the year.