Vote Allows Levee Repair To Ignore Species Act Craig, Kempthorne Lead Way On Senate Amendment That Affects St. Joe River Work

The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved an amendment to allow emergency flood repairs of levees without worrying about Endangered Species Act violations.

The legislation was championed by Idaho’s senators, in part because of the need to strengthen levees along the St. Joe River at St. Maries.

Repairs there have already begun, however, under an existing emergency clause in the act. The legislation, which President Clinton is expected to sign, appears to have two impacts on the St. Joe situation:

There will be no replacement of bald eagle habitat destroyed during maintenance and repair work. Cottonwood trees, in which the birds perch, were cut by the hundreds this winter and some remain to be cut.

A major reconstruction of the levees can get under way. That was good news to George Currier, emergency services director for Benewah County.

“That’s wonderful,” Currier said upon hearing about the Senate action. “That means we’ll get it taken care of this year.”

The amendment is part of a Senate appropriations bill. Engineered by Idaho Sens. Dirk Kempthorne and Larry Craig, it applies nationwide to any levees or other structures damaged by floods in 1996 or 1997.

It says that federal agencies don’t have to discuss ways to protect endangered species until after emergency repairs are done.

Craig introduced a tougher amendment last week. Some senators thought it went too far, doing serious damage to the Endangered Species Act.

As part of a compromise, the Idaho senators said in a press release, “the administration will send a letter to St. Maries, assuring the community that the city will not have to pay for ESA (Endangered Species Act) mitigation.”

It is actually the federal Economic Development Administration that would pay for mitigation, which in this case involves making up for the loss of the cottonwood trees.

The EDA has balked at buying other riverside habitat that could be protected for the eagles’ use, as required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

An EDA spokeswoman could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Fish and Wildlife officials in Portland and Spokane said they weren’t familiar with the Senate amendment, but they were puzzled by the need for it.

Rick Donaldson, an agency biologist, was among those who met last Friday with aides to Kempthorne and Craig, the EDA, the Corps of Engineers and Benewah County.

“Everyone agreed we’d work through this,” Donaldson said.

Environmentalists have been upset with flood-related Endangered Species Act legislation introduced in both the Senate and House this week.

“Sen. Craig has managed to hoodwink a bunch of people, to further his agenda to weaken the Endangered Species Act,” said Susan Weller of the Idaho Audubon Society.

As habitat for the eagle, that stretch of the St. Joe is basically useless, she added. “It’s a flood control ditch.”

, DataTimes