A lawsuit over river discharges threatens the January 2012 startup of a new Spokane County sewage treatment plant, so officials are working on a backup. Plan B, restoration of a wetland with treated wastewater, requires county officials to exercise many of the land-use tools in their kit – and one that doesn’t yet exist. The Spokesman Review reports.
Spokane County’s 167 million dollar sewage treatment plant could become operational by early 2012. This assumes the Department of Ecology will issue a permit to discharge treated effluent into the Spokane River. The Spokesman Review reports.
View letters related to the dispute resolution. Oral presentations April 5 and Spokane Fire Department Training Complex.
If Ecology’s DO TMDL plan for reducing algae-feeding pollution in the Spokane River is challenged, Spokane County’s treatment plant may not be allowed to discharge effluent into the Spokane River. That could trigger a construction moratorium or increased cost to discharge the water elsewhere. The Spokesman Review reports.
Spokane County has updated their website to include information about the Phosphorus Bioavailability Study that researchers at the University of Washington are currently conducting.
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is asking the public to review Spokane County’s proposed update of its shoreline master program (SMP). The review period will run through Oct. 2, 2009. The plan maps out how shoreline areas along the Spokane River and Spokane County’s lakes and streams will be protected and regulated for years to come.
A year ago Spokane County banned dishwasher detergent with more than 0.5 percent phosphorus as a means to reduce dissolved oxygen concerns in the Spokane River. Evidence now shows its working. The Spokesman Review reports.
In an effort to protect Spokane River stream flows and the aquifer, the city of Spokane and Spokane County unveiled plans to offer rebates to residents buying new Water Sense toilets or Energy Star washing machines to replace less-efficient appliances. The Spokesman Review reports.
Spokane County commissioners voted 2-1 on Friday to allow an engineering firm to begin construction on a wastewater treatment plant that will raise sewer bills for residents served by it, most of whom live in Spokane Valley. Decision on whether plant can discharge effluent into the Spokane River still unknown. The Spokesman Review reports.
Spokane County is seeking public comment on the Draft Watershed Plan for the Lower Spokane River Basin.