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Citizens must step up
The Spokesman-Review missed the top reason to endorse Proposition 2: the failure of regulatory agencies and legislatures. Leave it to government, you say? Citizens must protect health and safety: Olympia and D.C. are in gridlock.
The Legislature to pass a capital budget. The government is behind in controlling Hanford leaks. The paper reported how state regulatory agencies for almost 10 years allowed electric companies to postpone installing fire resistant poles with vegetation control in Sonoma, Calif.
Our railroad infrastructure is old. If an oil train derails in Spokane, there is no remedy for damage to surface water or our aquifer, serving over a half-million people. The Oct. 15 editorial admits “If it comes to pretreating the crude to make it safer … so be it.” Check out the EPA on spills with a one mile damage radius around tracks, schools, hospitals, highways, businesses and all the people using them. The editorial admits “to cover cars would lessen the chances of spilled coal causing derailments.”
Spokane looked ahead to create Expo ‘74 with Riverfront Park. Support our future health. Provide incentives for industry to treat Bakken oil and cover coal cars. Vote yes on Proposition 2.
Carol Ellis
Spokane