Plan For Lake Cda On Verge Of Approval Water Quality Measures ‘Vital’ But Have No Legal Teeth
A plan to protect Lake Coeur d’Alene, described Tuesday as both toothless and vital, is on the verge of approval by the Clean Lakes Coordinating Council.
After an evening hearing, the council agreed to take comments for one more week on the lake management plan, which has been several years in the writing. Council members will vote on it Nov. 4.
The plan is a list of recommendations, largely aimed at keeping algae-causing nutrients out of the lake. It addresses such activities as housing development, farming, logging and recreation.
“It has no teeth. It is not a law,” council chairwoman Susan MacLeod said. However, the council hopes the plan will be adopted by county commissioners in Kootenai, Benewah and Shoshone counties. They do have the authority to pass ordinances.
Success of the plan also depends on action by landowners, recreationists and agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service. Almost all of the actions - from dealing with weeds to enforcing laws against boat-waste dumping - have costs attached.
Ken Lustig of the Panhandle Health District was among those who worried aloud that the plan would end up sitting on a shelf without someone to see that it is carried out.
“A plan like this needs a report card on it,” he told the Clean Lakes Council. “That’s going to take someone of your stature - established by the Legislature, appointed by the governor.”
McLeod said the council would make recommendations on its role in an upcoming report to the Legislature, which created the seven-member North Idaho group in 1989.
The Lake Coeur d’Alene plan is one of eight to be written since then. The others cover Hauser, Twin, Pend Oreille, Hayden, Spirit, Cocolalla and Priest lakes.
Only the Priest Lake plan - presented last month to the Health and Welfare Board - will have the force of state law because it was authorized by special legislation.
Copies of the draft Lake Coeur d’Alene Management Plan are available at the Panhandle Health District, 2195 Ironwood Court, Coeur d’Alene 83814. The phone number is 667-9513. Comments should be directed there by Oct. 31.
, DataTimes