In late February, a dispute resolution process regarding the Dissolved Oxygen TMDL submitted by Washington Department of Ecology to EPA for approval was requested by the City of Post Falls, Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board, the City of Coeur d’Alene, and Inland Empire Paper company. On March 12th, Avista also requested dispute resolution.
Filings for DO TMDL dispute resolution and other background material are now available. Those seeking dispute resolution include the City of Post Falls and Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board, the City of Coeur d’Alene, Inland Empire Paper and Avista .
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.
The final PSU modeling reports (2009 and 2010 are posted.
The TMDL that was submitted to EPA on February 12 had an error in Table 4.
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a DO (dissolved oxygen plan) for final approval. The DO TMDL will guide work toward bringing the Spokane River into compliance with water quality standards for dissolved oxygen.
Scientists have been running diagnostic tests on City of Spokane sewer and stormwater pipes to see where PCB and other contaminants of concern might be entering the Spokane River. The Inlander reports.
Over 233 pages of comments were submitted to the Washington Department of Ecology draft dissolved oxygen TMDL for the Spokane River.
The latest plan to limit algae-producing phosphorus in the Spokane River is drawing critics. The Spokesman Review reports.
The Washington Department of Ecology capped contaminated sediments at an informal access point at Flora Road.