Becky Kramer

A company that operated more than 20 mines in Idaho’s Silver Valley over the past century can sue a railroad that hauled ore to try to recover some of the hundreds of millions of dollars it has paid for environmental cleanup, a federal appeals court ruled. Five years ago, Asarco LLC reached a $482 million settlement with the federal government over the company’s role in creating a massive Superfund site in the Coeur d’Alene River basin. However, Asarco later sued the Union Pacific Corp., saying the railroad also was responsible for the mining pollution and should foot part of the bill.

Avista Corp.’s sale of its energy management subsidiary helped push the utility’s second-quarter earnings past the $100 million mark, officials said Wednesday. Avista reported earnings of $100.9 million, or $1.67 per share, for the quarter. For the same period last year, the Spokane-based utility reported earnings of $25.7 million, or 43 cents per share. Revenues for the second quarter were nearly $313 million.

Avista Utilities says it spent more on electricity for Idaho customers last year than it recovered through rates. So, the utility is asking Idaho regulators for permission to raise electric rates by 4.2 percent for residential customers starting Oct. 1. The request, known as a “power cost adjustment,” is filed each year in late summer.

Avista Utilities should lower base rates for its Washington electric customers instead of trying to collect more money, the state attorney general’s office said this month. The office, which described the utility’s latest rate request as “excessive,” is the second government entity to call for lower electric rates for the Spokane-based utility beginning Jan. 1. The state Utilities and Transportation Commission’s staff took a similar position last week.

KETTLE FALLS, Washington – Richard Armstrong knelt on the Columbia River’s rocky shoreline, a feather in his hand, a prayer for salmon in his heart. For thousands of years, his ancestors fished at this site. Perched on platforms above the thundering cascades at Kettle Falls, they took hundreds – sometimes thousands – of fish daily from the river: blueback sockeye salmon, silvery steelhead, 40- to 60-pound spring chinooks called “June hogs” and eel-like lampreys.

With nearly 1 million acres burned by wildfires across Washington and Oregon, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is stumping for reforms in how the federal government pays for fighting fires. Strapped federal agencies are tapping fire-prevention funds to pay for spiraling suppression costs, thwarting efforts to reduce the severity of future wildfires, said Wyden, D-Ore.

Avista Utilities has reached a settlement to keep its base rates for Idaho customers unchanged through the end of 2015. The settlement, which still requires approval by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, was worked out after Avista announced in March that it would seek a rate hike for its electric and natural gas customers in Idaho. After informal talks, the Spokane-based utility proposed a one-year extension of the rate plan.

The city of Coeur d’Alene has reached a tentative agreement with BNSF Railway to purchase 2 miles of railroad right-of-way along the Spokane River for future trails and parks. The railroad hasn’t used the line since Coeur d’Alene’s last waterfront sawmill shut down, but it took years of negotiations for BNSF and city officials to reach an agreement on price, said Mike Gridley, Coeur d’Alene city attorney.

Avista Corp. will use a $3.2 million state grant to test how effectively large batteries store energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources. The three-year demonstration will occur at a Pullman substation, with a battery-storage system built by UniEnergy Technologies of Mukilteo, Washington. The battery system should be able to store enough electricity to power 100 to 120 homes for up to three hours. If the project is successful, Avista could ramp up the number of batteries in use, said Laurine Jue, a company spokeswoman.

A few years ago, Bonner County’s largest contiguous tract of private forestland appeared headed for development. Clagstone Meadows – 13,000 acres of timber, lakes and wetlands – had an approved development plan that included 1,100 homes, condos and RV lots, two 18-hole golf courses and an equestrian area. The plan would have created the equivalent of a new city between Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint, with easy access from U.S. Highway 95.

Avista Energy, the utility’s former energy trading subsidiary, has received $15 million through a settlement with California utilities that accused it of manipulating spot energy prices in that state during the 2000-2001 West Coast energy crisis. None of the parties admitted guilt in the settlement, which resolved a 14-year legal battle over skyrocketing electricity prices during the energy crisis. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, approved the settlement earlier this month.

Caribou worldwide share similar features – branching antlers, stocky bodies covered with hollow hair that insulates against the cold, and snowshoe-like hooves. Herds across North America and northern Europe all belong to a single species, Rangifer tarandus.

Avista Corp. is exploring how it might profit from the nation’s rapidly growing use of natural gas. The company launched a subsidiary this week to explore domestic markets for liquefied natural gas, primarily in the Pacific Northwest and other Western states.