Fairchild likely to get new tankers

Fairchild Air Force Base still is expected to be among the early homes to a new air refueling tanker, although no timetable has been set, Sen. Patty Murray said Tuesday.

Murray and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers met Tuesday with Gen. Arthur Lichte, head of the Air Mobility Command, after a ceremony to dedicate an $8.2 million facility at the Air Force Survival School, which shares the base with the refueling wing. Lichte said he was “very confident” Fairchild would be among the first bases where new tankers would be assigned, Murray said, although “we did not talk specifically about numbers or timelines.”

Any schedule for replacing the KC-135s at Fairchild and throughout the Air Force is speculative because the Pentagon was forced to reopen the bidding between Boeing and Lockheed for the $35 billion contract, and members of Congress have questioned whether the new rules give an advantage to one manufacturer.

Jim Camden

Spokane

High Bridge dog park receives approval

Man’s best friend will get a place to play in Spokane.

A section of High Bridge Park west of downtown will become the city’s first park for dogs and their owners, parks officials announced Tuesday.

A $12,000 grant from the Spokane Parks Foundation and money raised by SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. will pay for the park, said Nancy Goodspeed, spokeswoman for the city Parks and Recreation Department.

The park will include two fenced areas – one for small dogs and another for large dogs. The park plan will be generic enough to be replicated elsewhere in the city, Goodspeed said.

“The desire by pet owners is there,” Goodspeed said, adding the park likely will open in a year to 18 months.

Meghann M. Cuniff

Spokane County

Goodrich installs pollution safeguards

Goodrich Corp. has installed pollution prevention equipment at its aircraft carbon brake factory southeast of Spokane as part of a settlement of a major fine and enforcement action brought by state regulators.

The original agreement, signed in 2007, called for $510,000 in fines after state and local pollution investigators determined that Goodrich was washing chemicals into the sewer and lacked proper permits.

The fines were among the largest penalties ever issued in Eastern Washington by the state Department of Ecology and Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority.

Monday’s announcement by Ecology said the company would be allowed to credit $142,000 of the $495,000 it spent on its new pollution prevention program to lower the fines.

Grant Pfeifer, regional director of Ecology’s Spokane office, said the Goodrich changes would reduce wastewater by 43 percent, and lower its use of natural gas.

Goodrich and Ecology are working on a new permit that will better reflect the needs of the factory.

Staff reports