Idaho’s Sewage - Spokane River
 
 
 
Idaho’s Sewage Spokane River  If you care about the Spokane River, then attend. If you can't attend, then write comments. See information and key points, below. Please support cleaning up Idaho sewage polluting the Spokane River Everyone needs to do their share to restore the river The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released draft wastewater discharge permits (also known as NPDES permits) for three municipal wastewater treatment plants on the Spokane River in Idaho (Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden). These EPA permits significantly impact water quality in the Spokane River. Our river has too much phosphorus and ammonia resulting in toxic algae blooms in Lake Spokane and harmfully low levels of dissolved oxygen (bad for fish in the Reservoir and downstream onto the Spokane Reservation). The Clean Water Act requires that EPA issue permits that are protective of water quality both in Idaho and in Washington. Unfortunately, these permits do not pass legal muster and are not protective of our river's water quality. We must all do our share to protect the river and these permits unfairly allow the three Idaho dischargers to pollute more than their share. EPA is now taking comments on these draft permits. Written comments can be sent to by e-mail to “Nickel.Brian@epa.gov” by May 17, 2007. SUGGESTED POINTS 1. The Idaho NPDES permit limits are not protective of Washington’s surface waters in violation of federal law. EPA is the agency which issues NPDES permits in Idaho to wastewater treatment plants which discharge effluent into the Spokane River. Under the federal Clean Water Act, EPA is required to condition these permits to control all pollutants which have the reasonable potential to cause or contribute to water quality violations in downstream states. There are seven wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the Spokane River, three of which are in Idaho. All of these discharge too much phosphorus and other nutrients into the river. These are pollutants which cause low dissolved oxygen in Lake Spokane from March through September and impair the health of the lake. Washington’s current water quality standards applicable to Lake Spokane provide that human actions considered cumulatively may not decrease the dissolved oxygen concentration in portions of the lake more than 0.2 mg/L below natural conditions. Therefore, all seven plants need to reduce the loading of these pollutants to the river so that together they won’t cause more than a 0.2 mg/l degradation. Unfortunately, in the Idaho permits, EPA refused to consider the dischargers from Idaho and Washington on the lake. Instead, it only considered Idaho’s impact. EPA has conditioned these permits so that the Idaho dischargers may discharge these pollutants up to the allowable limit. Anything above that loading will violate the standards. Washington cannot reduce its loading to zero. Thus, these discharges when added to Washington’s will violate the standards in the lake. Clearly, the permits allow Idaho to contribute to water quality violations in Washington. EPA's analysis essentially says that 0.2 + 0.2 = 0.2! That simply doesn't add up! 2. A compliance schedule of nine years is unreasonable and unsupported by the facts. In order to reduce loading to cause just under the 0.2 mg/L sag, EPA is requiring the Idaho dischargers to upgrade their plants to achieve phosphorus concentrations of 50 parts per billion (ppb). However, EPA is giving them nine years to do so. Washington dischargers are being required by the Department of Ecology to achieve the same level of reductions within five years and then to further reduce their effluent to 10 ppb within 10 years. This includes the City of Spokane which intends to expand to 44 mgd. The City of Coeur d’Alene’s wastewater treatment plant is currently only 3.2 mgd. Even if it doubles in size, there is simply no reason why it could not upgrade to meet the required standards within a few years. Post Falls is even smaller. While the Washington dischargers are being required to start now to restore its waters to health, EPA has given these dischargers a free pass. 3. The required upgrades to these plants are achievable and affordable. Although the City of Coeur d’Alene maintains it will cost $30 to $60 million dollars to upgrade its plant to reduce nutrients as required by there permits, local vendor Blue Water Technologies (located in Hayden) states that its technology can already meet the required reductions and would cost an estimated $4 million to provide the necessary treatment for a 6 million per gallon (mgd) plant. CDA is currently at 3.2 mgd. More information and copies of the permits ARE available on EPA's website at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/NPDES+Public+Notices/Idaho-Wastewater-PN ___________ Rick Eichstaedt Attorney Center for Justice 35 West Main Street, Suite 300 Spokane, Washington 99201 www.cforjustice.org Phone: 509/835-5211 mailto:Nickel.Brian@epa.govhttp://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/NPDES+Public+Notices/Idaho-Wastewater-PNhttp://www.cforjustice.orgshapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2
Coeur d’Alene Sewage Treatment Plant
photo:  City of Coeur d’Alene
Map showing existing dischargers and proposed sewage treatment plants.
Spokane River low flow near the Idaho-Washington state line.         photo:   John Osborn
Lake Spokane blue-green algae bloom,  Fall 2001
photo:  Washington Dept of Ecology
Links
 
EPA website on issuing NPDES permits to Coeur d’Alene, Hayden  and Post Falls.
 
Sierra Club Spokane River & Aquifer Project
 
Permitting an End to Pollution: how to scrutinize and strengthen water pollution permits in your state.
 
                  
Old & existing permits and related documents:
 
Coeur d’Alene:
 
         Permit
         Factsheet
         Response to Comments
 
Hayden:
 
         Permit
         Factsheet
         Response to Comments
 
Post Falls:
 
         Permit
         Factsheet
         Response to Comments