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Department of Ecology News Release - November 8, 2004
04-201
SPOKANE - A draft plan to solve the problem of excessive fecal-coliform bacteria in the North Fork Palouse River watershed is available for public review and comment through Dec. 10.
The draft water-quality cleanup plan, or total maximum daily load (TMDL) as these reports are sometimes called, was started in 2000 by the Palouse Conservation District. The district received money from the Washington legislature, the state Conservation Commission and the state Department of Ecology (Ecology) to conduct a study and develop a plan.
Fecal coliform bacteria are microscopic organisms that live in the intestines and waste material of warm-blooded animals. Although not necessarily agents of disease, the bacteria can be an indicator of disease-carrying organisms.
Sources of fecal coliform pollution in the North Fork Palouse River from the Idaho border to Colfax include leaking septic systems, birds, wild animals and domestic animals such as cattle, horses and pets.
The cleanup plan identifies broad methods for alleviating the problem, such as education, particularly about properly operating and maintaining septic systems, promoting the use of established "best management practices" for livestock owners, and promoting ways to manage wildlife to minimize contact with the river and its tributaries.
In addition to forming a committee to develop a plan, the Palouse Conservation District also monitored water quality from June 2001 through September 2003.
Ecology used the data from the monitoring to determine how much the fecal-coliform bacteria need to be reduced at various locations in the watershed to meet water quality standards. These targets, combined with the local committee's work, became the basis of the current plan being released for public review.
"This plan is a superior product because of the active participation of the community," said Jim Bellatty, who manages Ecology's water-quality program in Spokane. "We couldn't have understood local issues and concerns as well without the local committee's hard work."
After the public has a chance to review the plan, it will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for final approval.
To view the draft report, go to http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0410067.html.
The next step will be to work on the specifics of how to implement the plan, such as what organizations and entities will take action, when it will be done and how it will be paid for.
Comments on the plan should be sent to Elaine Snouwaert at the Department of Ecology, 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane, Wash., 99205, or by e-mail to esno461@ecy.wa.gov, by Dec. 10.
To understand how to submit effective comments, a publication is available at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0410039.html.
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Media contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-329-3495; pager, 509-622-3073
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
