State Regulators May Not Meet Water-Quality Deadline With Feds

State environmental regulators believe they have resolved a third of the issues that prompted a federal court order for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assume responsibility for Idaho water quality on April 21.

But while federal and state officials have been working on the problem, it was unclear whether they could come to some agreement with less than a month left before the EPA takeover under U.S. District Judge William Dwyer’s order.

“These issues are very complicated, and it takes some time to sort them out,” said Sally Marquis, EPA’s regional water quality manager. “It’s going to be tough for either of us to meet this deadline, but we will.”

State officials believe two of the six specific points raised by Dwyer last month are no longer at issue. They involved assurances that outstanding resource waters - though none have been designated yet - will be protected from general pollution sources like erosion and that plans for protecting specific recreation uses and aquatic life in streams and lakes be spelled out.

Although EPA has not reviewed the state’s action on those fronts, Marquis said it may satisfy the judge.

But still at issue are how the state will assure stream temperatures are cold enough to support threatened species like the bull trout and Kootenai River white sturgeon, what protection will be afforded streams that have not been designated with a beneficial use, how much pollution from a feeding tributary can mix with water in the stream or lake before water quality is declared unacceptable and how water quality standards will be enforced on private waters.