Becky Kramer

Four miners who were trapped and injured two years ago during a rock burst at the Lucky Friday Mine are suing Hecla Mining Co., alleging that mine managers knowingly sent them into unsafe working conditions. On Dec. 14, 2011, Ronnel E. Barrett, Gregg Hammerberg, Eric J. Tester and Matthew Williams were part of a team of seven miners sent to repair damage from an earlier rock burst when another occurred, according to the lawsuit. The sudden, violent failure of a supporting rock pillar trapped them 5,900 feet below the surface.

Four miners who were trapped and injured two years ago during a rock burst at the Lucky Friday Mine are suing Hecla Mining Co., alleging that mine mangers knowingly sent them to work in unsafe conditions.

Last year, a train carrying crude oil from North Dakota chugged across Eastern Washington en route to a Puget Sound refinery. The oil train was the first for the region, but oil shipments through Spokane could become common in the future.

Last weekend’s doozy of a storm followed a classic Northwest weather script. Winds gusting to 40 mph blew moisture-rich air from the ocean into the Cascades and Northern Rockies, dumping snow on the mountains while leaving lower elevations bare.

Newmont Mining Co. expects to begin cleanup of a defunct uranium mine on the Spokane Indian Reservation by 2015. The company is working on design proposals for the remediation of the Midnite Mine, which opened in the 1950s to produce uranium for the U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms race. About 33 million tons of radioactive waste rock and ore remain at the 350-acre site above the Spokane River.

Vast mudflats appear in British Columbia’s Lake Koocanusa when the reservoir is lowered to protect U.S. communities from flooding. Houseboats moored on the reservoir get mired in the muck. And when the mud dries out, dust storms choke people in nearby communities.

The mudflats are terrible for tourism, and they’re one of impacts of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty, which led to the construction of large storage dams in British Columbia, said Debra Kozak, a city councilwoman from Nelson, B.C. “What we live with in Canada is industrial dams,” she said during a meeting of the Lake Roosevelt Forum in Spokane on Tuesday.

Keeping the flames leaping in 14 stoves will be Ben Myren’s task at the Wood Stove Decathlon starting Friday in Washington, D.C. It’s a job for an expert “fire master” and Myren fills the bill. He’s president of Myren Consulting, a Colville company that tests and certifies wood stoves according to federal standards.

Avista Utilities will spend $5 million this year to replace about 60 miles of natural gas line in Spokane and Lincoln counties that’s vulnerable to cracking. The older, polyethylene pipe can become brittle and develop cracks when it’s exposed to rocks or other pressures, state regulators said. In December 2008, a crack in the same type of pipe caused a natural gas explosion in Odessa, Wash. Two people were injured in the blast, which also damaged a garage.

Hot summer days contributed to higher third-quarter earnings for Avista Corp., officials said Wednesday. The Spokane-based utility cited air conditioning demand as a factor in its quarterly income of $11.4 million, or 19 cents per share, on revenue of $335.8 million.

With the Pacific Ocean for one border and the Columbia River for another, it’s no surprise that fish is a regular part of many Washington residents’ diets. But when it comes to setting water quality standards to protect fish eaters, the state has been using outdated data.

Hot summer days contributed to higher third quarter earnings for Avista Corp., officials said Wednesday.

Avista Corp. is moving into the Alaska market through the planned purchase of an electric utility serving the Juneau area. In a deal announced Monday, Avista will acquire Alaska Electric Light and Power’s parent company through a $170 million stock transaction. The sale is expected to close by July 1, subject to regulatory approvals.

Avista’s natural gas customers will pay 9.4 percent more for heat this winter as a result of higher wholesale prices. The new rates take hold Friday for about 150,000 customers in Spokane and other parts of Eastern Washington. A typical household, using 68 therms of natural gas per month, will see a $5.44 monthly increase, for a revised bill of $63.07.

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a whistleblower complaint against Clearwater Paper Corp. for allegedly firing a worker who raised concerns about excessive sawdust exposure.

Under terms of a treaty negotiated 50 years ago, the United States sends $250 million to $350 million worth of electricity from Columbia River dams to British Columbia each year. That’s way too much, a coalition of 85 Northwest utilities says.