Becky Kramer

Toilet paper and facial tissue produced by Clearwater Paper Corp. will soon carry an environmental endorsement. Beginning in June, the company’s facial tissue will be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program. Clearwater Paper’s premium and ultra grades of toilet paper will have the certification by the end of year. In 2011, the company plans to start certifying premium grades of paper towels.

Each day, digesters at the city of Coeur d’Alene’s sewage treatment plant belch out 96,000 cubic feet of methane gas. Some of the flammable gas is captured and used as a heating source. But most is burned off as waste.

Even after billions of dollars are spent cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, radioactive waste could threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years to come. A government analysis shows that hot spots of uranium, strontium 90 and other potential carcinogens could linger in Hanford’s groundwater for nearly 10,000 years. The analysis is part of a 6,000-page document outlining the U.S. Department of Energy’s options for dealing with leaky underground storage tanks.

Building 30 private docks at the Coyote Rock Estates on the Spokane River will damage spawning habitat for native redband trout, the Spokane Falls chapter of Trout Unlimited says. Trout Unlimited and two other groups have appealed the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s decision to approve the first of 30 docks planned for the 60-acre Coyote Rock development, across the river from Arbor Crest winery’s Cliff House. The appeal says the department should consider the combined effect of 30 docks on redband trout habitat, instead of processing each dock application individually.

Avista Corp. will ask Washington and Idaho regulators for permission to raise utility rates by early next year. The Spokane-based company plans to file “rate cases” with both states’ public utilities commissions by the end of March, for increases that would take effect in late 2010 or early 2011, Avista’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Thies told analysts during a Thursday conference.

Avista Corp. will ask Washington and Idaho regulators for permission to raise utility rates by early next year. The Spokane-based company plans to file “rate cases” with both state’s public utilities commissions by the end of March, for increases that would take effect in late 2010 or early 2011, Avista’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Thies told analysts during a Thursday conference.

Avista Corp. will delay construction of a 50-turbine wind farm near Reardan until at least 2014, citing the high costs associated with harnessing energy from the wind. Avista had planned to have the farm operating in 2013 so it could qualify for federal and state tax credits, but officials now say the electricity won’t be needed for several more years. This is the second delay for the Lincoln County project, which was first announced in 2008.

Avista Corp. will delay construction of a 50-turbine wind farm near Reardan until at least 2014, citing the high costs associated with harnessing energy from the wind.

Rumors of 150-pound wolves abound in the Idaho Panhandle, but most of the wolves taken by hunters are much smaller. Adult females averaged 86 pounds, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials, who also included the weights of wolves struck by vehicles in the survey. For adult males, 101 pounds was the average.

By 2020, the Spokane River will look more like a blue-ribbon trout stream, Washington state officials predicted Friday as they unveiled a final plan to reduce the river’s phosphorus load by 90 percent within a decade. Anglers will slip on fewer slimy, algae-coated rocks along the shore, they said. More oxygen will be available for fish and other aquatic creatures in the river, and the reservoir behind Long Lake Dam will be transformed, with oxygenated water extending another 50 feet deep, and fewer outbreaks of toxic algae blooms.

Electricity bills for Avista’s Eastern Washington customers will fall by 7 percent after state regulators eliminated a monthly surcharge that dated to the 2001 West Coast energy crisis. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission agreed to allow the utility to remove the surcharge, which will save most customers about $5.35 per month. Residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatts a month will see their monthly electric bill drop from $77.14 to $71.79.

Electricity bills for Avista’s Eastern Washington customers will fall by 7 percent after state regulators eliminated a monthly surcharge that dated to the 2001 West Coast energy crisis.

Even routine remodeling activities can generate hazardous amounts of lead dust, says Patrick Lehne, the owner of Western Regional Lead Training Center in Portland. Lehne, who recently taught classes on safe lead paint removal techniques in Spokane, uses sanding a front door as an example.

A federal bankruptcy judge has given Sterling Mining Co. another four months before the company, which controls the lease of the historic Sunshine Mine near Kellogg, is auctioned off. The sale was scheduled for this week, but Judge Terry Myers agreed Tuesday to give Sterling until June 4 to file a plan of reorganization.

A federal bankruptcy judge has given Sterling Mining Co. another four months before the company, which controls the lease of the historic Sunshine Mine near Kellogg, is auctioned off.