Water Quality Permits Outdated Epa Backlog Lets Firms Dump Under Old Rules

More than a third of the major polluters in Idaho operate under obsolete water quality permits, a new report shows.

North Idaho mines and wastewater treatment plants make up nearly half the companies in Idaho with expired permits, according to the report released last month by two environmental groups.

Federal officials confirmed the report’s findings.

Permits date back to as far as 1977 for the Lucky Friday Mine above Mullan and are as recent as 1994 for the Page sewage plant.

Of the state’s 66 companies viewed as major pollution sources by regulators, 24 operate under outdated permits, according to the report from the Environmental Working Group and Friends of the Earth.

Companies on old permits escape stricter pollution limits that reflect constant improvements in technology, said Amy Hagovsky of the Environmental Working Group.

“We’re trying to get the facilities to get more efficient, to dump less waste,” Hagovsky said.

But federal and state regulators - along with the companies listed - said the report is also somewhat misleading.

Mines and plants in the Silver Valley still face oversight, said Geoff Harvey of the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality.

An expired permit is not like an expired driver’s license: Companies are under government-approved extensions and comply with the terms of the original paperwork.

“It’s a misnomer to say the permit has lapsed,” Harvey said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to make companies renew permits every five years.

The agency - charged with writing permits for companies in Idaho and Alaska - is battling a backlog, the region’s top water official said this week.

“The report is correct to be critical,” said Randy Smith, EPA’s regional water chief in Seattle. “We should be issuing those permits as they expire.”

The Lucky Friday Mine near Mullan, operated by Hecla Mining Co., releases lead and other metals into the Coeur d’Alene River system under a permit that expired in 1980.

State and federal regulators agreed that the Lucky Friday’s effluent would not meet current standards. Federal officials say it’s the most outdated mine permit in a four-state region.

But a Hecla spokeswoman said it’s ridiculous to imply the mine or any others named in the report dump unregulated waste into Idaho’s rivers.

“We are well-monitored and regulated by dozens and dozens of regulations,” Hecla’s Vicki Veltkamp said. “I would say all of the companies on this list applied for new permits years ago and are waiting for the EPA to approve them.”

Officials confirmed that mining companies and others have applied for new permits.

But the EPA is delaying new permits for the Coeur d’Alene River basin until it finalizes new heavy metals limits, called Total Maximum Daily Loads. The TMDLs are expected to come out in late summer. Then the agency will write new permits for mines and three local wastewater treatment plants. It’s “highly likely” the mines will face stricter metals limits, said Patty McGrath, EPA’s lead permit writer in Seattle.

“The facilities will just have to see what they can do,” McGrath said, adding that some mines can lower metals emissions by recycling waste water.

A 1998 internal investigation by EPA’s inspector general revealed major problems with the way EPA enforced clean water laws. But the agency’s record has improved in the past five years, regulators said.

In 1995, three quarters of Idaho’s major polluters operated under outdated permits, regional permitting officer Bob Robichaud said. Now it’s 35 percent, and officials hope to bring all but 4 percent under new permits by the end of 2001.

“We’re on target,” Robichaud said. “We’ve made a lot of progress, and we’re anxious to issue those permits in the Coeur d’Alene basin.”

Only four Washington facilities east of the Cascades showed up on a recent report detailing outdated water quality permits.

State regulators said the two Spokane sources - the Kaiser Aluminum facility at Mead and the City of Spokane’s sewage treatment plant - would be under new permits by the end of this week.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FAST FACTS Process improving

In 1995, three quarters of Idaho’s major polluters operated under outdated permits, regional permitting officer Bob Robichaud said. Now it’s 35 percent, and officials hope to bring all but 4 percent under new permits by the end of 2001.

Cut in the Spokane edition.