Posted on 04/28/2004 9:07:28 PM PDT by writer33
EPA wants Ecology to deny new discharge permits until capacity problem solved
Flushing toilets could bring development in unincorporated Spokane County and Spokane Valley to a halt.
Spokane County Utilities Director Bruce Rawls warned county commissioners and Spokane Valley City Council members Tuesday that their jurisdictions will reach wastewater treatment capacity by 2009 unless a new treatment plant is built.
And completion of that $100 million, 10-million-gallons-per-day plant is facing some serious hurdles.
"There's some question our project will be built in time to meet our (current) 10-million-gallon limit," said Rawls.
Without the extra capacity, local jurisdictions will be forced to enact a building moratorium or severely limit a program to connect to sewer Aquifer Protection Area properties now served by septic systems.
At issue is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's crackdown on Spokane River polluters.
The river has low levels of dissolved oxygen, and the EPA wants the Washington Department of Ecology to deny new discharge permits until the problem is solved.
Stopping development isn't a viable option, said Mark Richard, government affairs director for the Spokane Homebuilders Association.
"At a time where Spokane seems to be on the mend and moving forward, a hit like this would have a serious effect on jobs," Richard said.
Construction was one of the few bright spots in Spokane's economy last year, with new home permits jumping 27 percent thanks in part to low interest rates.
But government officials say the sewer situation is dire.
"If people don't think a building moratorium is a very real possibility, then they need to wake up and smell the coffee -- or smell the sewage," Spokane County Commissioner Kate McCaslin said.
Spokane Valley City Manager Dave Mercier on Tuesday directed city staff to warn developers in writing of the potential moratorium.
The warning reads: "Applicants for development proposals should carefully consider the adequacy of wastewater treatment facilities at an early stage of planning developments in the city."
Mercier discussed the warning during a break in Tuesday's City Council meeting as "just an extra way to make sure they're not caught by surprise."
McCaslin blamed part of the wastewater predicament on Spokane Valley leaders' indecision on the plant.
The county was ready to build the plant last spring, but Spokane Valley council members said they wanted to consider their options, she said. One year later, Spokane Valley still hasn't signed an agreement on the facility with the county.
"That plant would be under construction today," she said. "They refused to make a decision."
But Spokane Valley Deputy Mayor Diana Wilhite said it's unfair to say the year's delay is the problem.
The EPA still could have stepped in to prevent it last year, Wilhite said.
"I'm not sure that even if we'd agreed to the county plan that we would have gotten the permit," she said, adding that all local elected officials and state officials must cooperate to get that permit.
"If the DOE and the EPA push us into a corner, we'll have to look at some alternative," Wilhite said. "Whatever we choose will have to be the most fair to all involved."
Rawls said local officials will have to move quickly to prevent sewage from exceeding treatment capacity. Waiting until the DOE determines the total maximum daily load for dissolved oxygen in the river may be too late.
That's because it will take about five years to build the plant, and the TMDL determination may not be made until 2006 or 2007. Even if construction started today, the county would be pushing it, he said.
A building moratorium would buy the area capacity until 2012, Rawls estimated. Stopping all remaining septic tanks from hooking into the sewer would give the area until 2015 to add treatment capacity.
Another option would be to continue building sewers into areas with septic tanks, but make hookups voluntary, Rawls explained. He added that would give the jurisdictions until 2013 to add wastewater treatment capacity because most people would decline to connect.
Spokane County can't even stop discharging treated sewage into the river.
Rawls explained that the DOE wouldn't allow it because the treated wastewater is necessary to maintain Spokane River flows during the summer months.
Commissioner Phil Harris suggested that treated wastewater be injected into the aquifer. Beforehand, it could be treated until it's safe enough to drink, he said.
Such treatment options, such as a process called reverse osmosis, would be extremely costly and create additional issues, such as the creation of salty brine water, Rawls answered.
Perhaps the most frustrating fact is that treated wastewater isn't even the biggest problem facing the Spokane River, said Rawls. That problem is dominated by nonpoint sources of pollution like fertilizer use and sediments.
Even if the county stopped discharging into the river, he said, Lake Spokane still wouldn't meet water quality standards.
The EPA doesn't care about jobs. They're too busy regulating people out of business with junk science.
"Perhaps the most frustrating fact is that treated wastewater isn't even the biggest problem facing the Spokane River, said Rawls. That problem is dominated by nonpoint sources of pollution like fertilizer use and sediments."
That's right. All you people using fertilizer on your lawns, seeping into the river are ruining the environment. Don't you know a green lawn is passe. It must be all natural. So stop using it, people. :) HA!
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