In a surprise veto Tuesday, Gov. Phil Batt erased protection for the Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.
Batt's veto puts him at odds with both houses of the Idaho Legislature, which had unanimously endorsed the $58,000 appropriation to the Panhandle Health District. If not fixed next session, it could cost small water districts hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in additional water tests, legislators say.
