Lake advisory group meets today
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Come Friday evening, $2 million in state funding will be allocated to projects that could improve the health of Lake Coeur d'Alene by 2023.
The Coeur d'Alene Lake Advisory Commission is holding its third and final meeting today at 9 a.m.
As part of Gov. Brad Little's Building Idaho's Future initiative, the CLAC was tasked with identifying projects that could reduce phosphorus levels in the Coeur d'Alene Basin.
Millions of tons of metal contaminants like zinc, cadmium and lead in the Coeur d'Alene Basin stem from historic mining activities in the Silver Valley. Since the mid-1970s, the concentration of metals has declined. However, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has reported nutrients, including phosphorus, have increased.
High levels of nutrients like phosphorus cause eutrophication and can lower lake oxygen levels. If those levels decrease significantly, the metals resting on the bed of Lake Coeur d'Alene will be released, damaging the basin's health.
CLAC members were presented with 40 proposals submitted by local organizations on Oct. 21. Only a handful will be prioritized for a slice of the $2 million state allowance.
Favored projects will go forward to the Panhandle Basin Advisory Group, which is scheduled to meet Friday at 9 a.m. The IDEQ director will make the final project award decision.
Proposals selected by the CLAC are intended to support an ongoing study by the National Academies of Sciences into historical and current water quality data in Lake Coeur d'Alene.
The public can listen to both meetings through Zoom.
CLAC members are:
• Kootenai County Commissioner Chris Fillios
• Former Lt. Gov. and state Rep. Jack Riggs
• Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer
• Coeur d’Alene Rep. Paul Amador
• Coeur d'Alene Tribe Secretary/Treasurer Hemene James
• Kootenai Environmental Alliance Executive Director Shelley Austin
• Hagadone Marine Group President Craig Brosenne
• Harrison City Councilman Jordan Hall
• Lakeshore property owner Bruce Cyr
Info: www.deq.idaho.gov/coeur-dalene-lake-advisory-committee/, www.deq.idaho.gov/events/panhandle-basin-advisory-group-meeting-5/