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Item: Detractors line up against state’s Spokane River plan: Draft seeks to reduce phosphorus levels by 90 percent in the next decade/Shawn Vestal, SR
More Info: The latest plan to limit algae-producing phosphorus in the Spokane River is drawing critics from all directions as Washington officials consider whether to move ahead with it. One company that discharges phosphorus in its wastewater, Inland Empire Paper Co., says new pollution limits might put it out of business. Avista Utilities says it would be on the hook for pollution it doesn’t cause. City officials in Idaho say Washington regulators are overstepping their authority by setting limits for wastewater plants across the border.
Question: Should Washington regulators be able to set limits for wastewater plants in Idaho?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Charlie on November 05 at 10:04 a.m.
Doesn’t each state have the right to set their own laws and regulations? Washington and Idaho need to do some face time and try to come up with a solution that agreeable to all. If Washington officials try to strong arm Idaho it may get ugly fast.
spokelooneh on November 05 at 10:46 a.m.
All of these players have been working on these issues for over a decade, often in close collaboration; polluters, regulators, and enviros together. What we’re seeing in the article from nearly all sides is pure puffery and political posturing. Roosters crowing.
One hopes than can the parties come together once again and hash these issues out, otherwise it will end up in Federal court with massive legal bills better spent of fixing the problems and more delays.
geoffocache on November 05 at 11:08 a.m.
For once I am with you spokelooneh.
Lark on November 05 at 11:47 a.m.
Absolutely, they should. If my next-door neighbor dumped his garbage on my lawn, I’d hold him accountable. A river doesn’t know enough to stay in one state and should be regulated as a whole system — not in bits and pieces. This is a problem that precedes the existence of states or nations for that matter. Think about or Google the Trail Smelter case regarding mine tailings from Canada flowing downstream into Washington in the Columbia River. Rivers know no boundaries.