Post Falls Fined For Sewage Spill

Discharging sewage into the Spokane River in October 1995 has cost the city of Post Falls a $30,000 fine.

U.S. Magistrate Larry M. Boyle sentenced the city in U.S. District Court Tuesday. Because Post Falls has taken steps to try to fix problems with its sewage treatment plant, Boyle is allowing the city to deduct money it spent on a consultant from the fine. That figure was not available.

The incident occurred when a pump failed. That allowed untreated sewage to overflow into a channel and then into the Spokane River.

Sewage treatment plant operators decided it wasn’t serious enough to report to the Environmental Protection Agency. A whistleblowing employee did, prompting an investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the EPA and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. , DataTimes