Panhandle sewage rules elimination bill scaled back

Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, presents HB 667, regarding health district sewage rules, to the House Environment Committee on Thursday afternoon.

BOISE - A North Idaho lawmaker’s proposal to eliminate all of the Panhandle Health District’s sewage rules - including those that protect an aquifer that’s the sole source of drinking water for more than 400,000 people in the region, including Spokane - was cut way back Thursday, but still will allow more expansion of homes on outdated sewer systems on North Idaho lakes.

“This was a compromise that we agreed to,” said Dale Peck, environmental response and technology director for Panhandle Health. “It’s certainly a much better alternative than moving HB 667 forward in its original form.” More here. Betsy Russell, Spokesman Review

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