In brief: Comments sought on sewage plant

Wed., June 29, 2011

A 60-day comment period begins today for a draft permit for Spokane County’s new wastewater treatment plant.

The plant is designed to process up to 8 million gallons of sewage daily, which will be discharged into the Spokane River. Performance testing with clean water will begin in July.

The permit can be viewed on the Washington Department of Ecology’s website, www.ecy.wa.gov/ programs/wq/permits/ eastern_permits.html. Comments will be accepted through Aug. 26 at stra461@ecy.wa.gov.

New discharge permits were issued last week for three existing dischargers: the city of Spokane, Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District and Kaiser Aluminum. A permit for Inland Empire Paper is still in draft form, and also available for review on the Ecology Department website. Comments on the Inland Empire Paper draft permit will be accepted through Thursday at phal461@ecy.wa.gov.

Inland Empire Paper is a subsidiary of Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Asbestos-screening grant awarded

HELENA – U.S. Sen. Max Baucus says a Lincoln County clinic has secured a $10 million, four-year federal grant to screen people for asbestos-related disease.

The Montana Democrat announced Monday that the Center for Asbestos Related Disease had been awarded the competitive grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 1,750 people from the Libby area have been diagnosed with potentially fatal asbestos-related diseases.

The northwestern Montana town is where a W.R. Grace vermiculite mine released asbestos that contaminated hundreds of households, businesses and forests.

Two motorcyclists hurt in crash

A motorcyclist and his passenger were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center after colliding with a pickup truck Tuesday.

Tommy M. Scher, 56, of Lewiston, was riding a Harley Davidson with Danielle J. Holcomb, 52, of Sandpoint, on the back, according to a Washington State Patrol news release. The two were westbound on Trent Avenue just west of Argonne about 4:25 p.m.

Aaron J. Shiebel, 18, of Colbert, was pulling out of a parking lot into the eastbound lane, when he was struck by Scher. Authorities say the cause was failure to yield.

Holcomb is in serious condition and Scher is in satisfactory condition. Shiebel was not injured.

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