Officials Defend Record On Erosion

State highway officials are bristling at the accusation that they’ve turned their backs on efforts to protect the Panhandle’s water.

The charge was made by the Clean Lakes Coordinating Council last week in a report to Gov. Phil Batt.

David Karssan, the Department of Transportation’s environmental planner in North Idaho, said Thursday he was surprised by the criticism.

He was particularly upset by the comment of council member Bob Hammes that the department has done nothing to control erosion.

“It’s just not true,” Karssan said.

New erosion control procedures will make a “black and white difference” in the way the department works to protect streams and lakes, he said.

Karssan’s boss, district engineer Tom Baker, sent a two-page letter to the council rebutting the charge that the department is ignoring efforts to protect water.

He insisted that the department is working with the council, which was formed five years ago to protect Panhandle lakes from nutrient pollution.

For highway officials, the criticism smarts especially because it comes after much publicity and expensive erosion problems on two construction projects near Sandpoint.

An environmental group is suing over damage done to Sand Creek last year. The state’s Division of Environmental Quality blasted Transportation for ignoring its advice.

But even the division’s administrator, Gwen Burr, thought the Clean Lakes Council comments were harsh.

“I thought they were sweeping comments,” she said, adding that the highway department has responded to concerns about water quality.

The Clean Lakes Coordinating Council office is located at the Panhandle Health District, which has had plenty of concerns about the environmental impact of roads.

Health district staffer Ken Lustig agreed Thursday that both state and county highway officials are paying attention to the erosion prevention.

After the Sandpoint-area problems, the department moved its erosion-control expert to the Coeur d’Alene office.

From now on, environmental protection will be written into each construction contract, Karssan said. There are new limits on how much ground can be exposed to wind and rain at any given time.

The procedures are being used for the first time on state Highway 3 near Rose Lake, where a bridge is being replaced over the Coeur d’Alene River.

Two fences have been installed to keep dirt out of the river, and the project will be monitored carefully for signs of erosion, Karssan said.

“There will be nothing going into that river. I guarantee it.”

For the first time on such a project, he said, a state environmental officer was included in the pre-construction conference with the contractor.

Karssan said he has cooperated with the lakes council. He cited meetings with council members and their their technical advisory group.

Lisa Prochnow, staff member for the lakes council, has agreed to meet with department officials.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: What’s new? From now on, environmental protection will be written into each construction contract. There are new limits on how much ground can be exposed to wind and rain at any given time