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Spokane River Dissolved Oxygen TMDL Collaboration

Historical Information from Ross Consultant

Water quality in the Spokane River needs to be improved and utilities and industries that discharge treated water into the river, along with the Washington State Department of Ecology, are all committed to making the river better.

The Department of Ecology prepared a draft water quality cleanup plan (called a Total Maximum Daily Load or TMDL) to address the Spokane River’s dissolved oxygen problem. Issued as a draft in late 2004, the TMDL would establish implementation measures to achieve significant reductions in phosphorus loading to the River, reductions that negotiations aimed to achieve through balancing important environmental goals and requirements with a healthy economy.

In February 2005, public and private dischargers subject to the TMDL (the Petitioners) reached agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology to withdraw their Petition for Rule Making concerning a proposed Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) and began a dialogue about how an acceptable Spokane River TMDL Implementation Plan might be developed. This allowed productive discussion about how to best achieve the needed water quality requirements while meeting local needs. The Draft TMDL and the UAA were reviewed in the context of planned future actions and the expected resulting improvements in river quality.

A wide range of parties, including local governments; the State of Idaho; the Spokane Tribe of Indians; environmental groups; power companies; Ecology; and the dischargers, participated in Full Group discussions that focused on identifying specific pound-for-pound phosphorus reduction methods. The discussion was called the Spokane River TMDL Collaboration. Four workgroups were created: Technology, Wastewater Flows and Loading, Reuse & Conservation, and Non-Point Sources, to discuss and recommend to the Full Group how both points sources (dischargers) and non-point sources (runoff, septic tanks, etc.) of pollution can be effectively managed to reduce pounds of phosphorus reaching the river.

A revised TMDL draft was developed in September 2007, based on the work of the Collaboration and Foundational Concepts. More information on the 2007 draft, including the list of public comments received, can be found at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/tmdl/spokaneriver/dissolved_oxygen/index.html.

The Department of Ecology will make the ultimate decision whether the implementation strategy will meet the requirements of the TMDL. The final draft TMDL and implementation strategy will be subject to public review and comment. Ecology will then finalize the TMDL and submit it to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its approval.

• Workgroups
• Public Process
  Procedures the Collaboration followed.
• Resources
  Links to relevant documents available for download.
• Fundamental Questions (PDF)
  Questions prepared by the Steering Workgroup to give specific direction to Workgroups to initially ascertain which set of activities might reduce pounds of phosphorus from the River.

Last revision of Collaboration documents: June 3, 2005

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