We continue to watch in horror as the gulf oil spill expands and consumes beaches, marshland, birds, fish, and other wildlife. Even when the spill finally stops, the gulf region is facing years and years of cleanup. Those of us in North Idaho can relate as well as anyone south of Prince William Sound, Alaska. Environmentally, the oil mess in the gulf is not unlike more »
Disappointingly bringing an end to a long process, lame-duck Commissioners Rick Currie and Rich Piazza outvoted Commissioner Todd Tondee today to approve a site-disturbance permit for a roadway through a frequently flooded, contaminated property along the Coeur d’Alene River near Medimont. The proposal, from developer / realtor John Beutler, would provide new access to an unbuilt subdivision along the River. Community members and environmental interests more »
We’ve been waiting quite some time for an announcement, and got the news today: EPA has announced the Obama Administration’s appointment of Dennis J. McLerran to be Regional Administrator for the region that includes Idaho. (Region 10 is comprised of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Pacific Northwest Indian Country. Its headquarters is in Seattle. ) Because Idaho has declined to administer many of its own environmental programs, EPA more »
Even the most vocal component of our local red-state anti-everything contingent should be applauding this news regarding the federal stimulus spending in the Coeur d’Alene basin. We got notice of this DEQ press release yesterday, announcing the end-of-season statistics that show the stimulus spending has put the yard cleanup program in the upper basin nearly two years ahead of schedule. The program, which removes a more »
We received the attached communication from EPA this afternoon, as news leaked out about the decision to go ahead with the East Mission Flats Superfund Repository in Cataldo, Idaho. According to the release, “The final decision to allow the project to move forward was made by Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. Mr. more »
