Item: Otter letter critical of EPA: Governor says upper basin plan can't go forward/Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: In a letter on Monday, Gov. Butch Otter criticized the EPA's proposed Record of Decision amendment for the Upper Basin, and said a successful cleanup in the Silver Valley "is impossible without a healthy community and a strong local economy." "In my view, the proposed ROD amendment must not go forward unless the EPA commits that cleanup work will not impede existing or future mining," Otter wrote. "Moreover, the proposed ROD is not acceptable unless the EPA identifies and commits to reasonable and achievable endpoints."

Question: Otter goes on to say that the EPA must "live within people's means." Should the EPA hold off far-reaching plans during these hard economic times?