Batt Expected To Sign Bill Creating Basin Commission

Legislation creating a Coeur d’Alene basin commission to oversee cleanup of mining wastes passed the House unanimously Tuesday, and Gov. Phil Batt is expected to sign it.

“The commission is set up specifically so that it can take advantage of Larry Craig’s legislation that’s coming from the federal government,” Rep. Mark Stubbs, R-Twin Falls, told the House.

Stubbs said the commission will “get everyone in the loop.”

His co-sponsor on the House floor, Rep. Lee Gagner, R-Idaho Falls, said, “This is representative government at its best.”

There was no mention of concerns raised at a Senate committee hearing that the bill excludes conservation groups, who are represented on the current committees working on water quality in the basin.

“I think they got the substantive portion of what we’re trying to do out there,” said Sen. Gordon Crow, R-Hayden, the bill’s main backer.

Mike Medberry of the Idaho Conservation League said, “I don’t see any need for this thing in the absence of Craig’s legislation, and we haven’t seen Craig’s legislation.”

But Crow said even if Craig’s federal bill doesn’t pass, money could be funneled through the new group to start cleanup projects.

, DataTimes