Avista Corp. is using heavy equipment to scoop rocks and gravel from behind the Monroe Street Dam in downtown Spokane. But the action is drawing fire from the Sierra Club, who says the work may be stirring up PCBs, heavy metals and other toxic materials deposited behind the dam.
Two years after a fisherman discovered a city pipe discharging raw sewage into the Spokane River, the Spokane City Council on Monday agreed to a plan to prevent future spills.
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the Spokane Regional Health District will begin sending out inspectors this week to work with small business owners to help identify and reduce the amount of toxic chemicals entering the Spokane River.
Sierra Club and Center for Environment Law and Policy (CELP) announced that they have appealed the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) 401 Certification for Spokane River dams as favoring Avista Corporation over the Spokane River.
Avista Corp. should do more to protect the Spokane River in return for harnessing its water for hydropower generation, two environmental groups say.
Spokane will lead the state this summer, banning high-phosphorus dishwasher detergents to improve water quality, particularly in the Spokane River and Lake Spokane.
The Spokane Tribe of Indians is in the process of revising its Water Quality Standards and is seeking public comment. Changes to the Standards include the fish consumption rate, the water consumption rate, mixing zones provision and temperature. The deadline for submitting written comments is September 26th, 2008.