Who do they work for?

In response to: “Spokane River advocates push court to compel cleanup plan for PCBs” (July 7):

River advocates are grateful for the Spokesman-Review article by Ted McDermott (July 6) on our effort to compel the EPA and Washington state Department of Ecology (WSDOE) to provide a PCB clean-up plan for the Spokane River that meets the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. We did note that listing the PCB dischargers — we suggest “polluters” as a more appropriate name — the article did not include the city of Spokane and Spokane County.

While there is still more to do, the county has made significant progress in cleaning up its PCB discharge. On the other hand, the city, via the Mayor’s Office, has resisted establishing stricter limits on PCBs and seems only willing to act under the threat of legal action.

We take exception with the response of WSDOE’s Colleen Keltz. In 2015 the United States Ninth Circuit Court ruled that the EPA may not approve the Spokane River Regional Task as an alternative to a total daily maximum load, as Keltz suggested. WSDOE has had 25 years since our river was listed by the EPA as impaired, 15 years since WSDOE circulated a draft Spokane River PCB load limit for comment, and six years since the court ruled against their attempt at a “task force alternative.” And they want 15-30 more years to play around with the five polluters on the task force they recommend as the solution.

Is WSDOE working for the citizens of the state or for the polluters?

W. Thomas Soeldner

Valleyford