Kara Odegard: Businesses must stand together to protect the Spokane River Basin by breaking out of status quo behaviors
By Kara Odegard
Businesses in the Spokane River Basin have a long history of polluting our waterways. According to the Washington Department of Ecology, PCBs, heavy metals, and other forms of pollutants exist in the Spokane River at levels considered unsafe for humans and animals. The good news is that updated state and federal regulations are helping clean up this pollution alongside businesses and organizations committed to prioritizing the health of people and our environment.
On Dec. 4, five business and trade associations, including the Association for Washington Business and Greater Spokane Inc., filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency challenging the water quality sstandards adopted in 2022 for toxic pollution in the state of Washington. GSI asserts it is party to the suit to represent all its members. Measure Meant is a member of GSI, and we believe our interests as a small business and those of the Spokane community are not represented by GSI’s decision.
The EPA standards in question relate to PCB limits for wastewater discharged directly into rivers and waterways. PCBs, known to cause serious health problems, are already prevalent in the Spokane River from years of underregulated industrial processes. The five local organizations, all GSI members, directly impacted by the EPA standards include Inland Empire Paper and Kaiser Aluminum, along with the wastewater treatment plants for Liberty Lake, the city of Spokane and Spokane County. (Inland Empire Paper is owned by the Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.)
The lawsuit contends the EPA’s PCB limits cannot be measured and technology isn’t available to remove PCBs to meet EPA established levels. However, more sensitive testing technology is emerging today. And while technology to remove PCBs is still developing, Kaiser is creating technology to comply with EPA requirements using newly developing technology, while Spokane County, Liberty Lake and the city of Spokane have now implemented advanced water treatment technology. History shows that improved technology follows the introduction of higher standards. The accountability that regulation brings drives technological innovation to meet higher standards.
Two things motivate businesses more than anything else: opportunities to make money and threats of financial penalties. There isn’t an immediate opportunity for financial gain by reducing PCBs and other harmful emissions. And because many businesses are not voluntarily investing in removing PCBs, legislation and the threat of financial penalties is the most effective way to hold businesses accountable.
The Association for Washington Business claims the EPA standards could cost Washington state tens of thousands of jobs. When the association and GSI talk about the increased costs of higher pollution standards, they ignore the costs borne by individuals and communities. When businesses neglect the environmental impacts of their decisions, society pays the price: negative health outcomes, environmental degradation and ecosystem loss all create costs for society.
Regardless of whether the business association’s estimate relies on fact-based assumptions, we should ask if we want jobs that depend on allowing companies to pollute our environment. Particularly when the state could attract industries that are committed to healthy employees, healthy communities and a healthy environment.
We strongly believe there is an alternative path for all companies, one that prioritizes people and the environment while still allowing companies to be profitable. Consumers already demand that companies take responsibility for their actions. Companies like Patagonia, REI, Costco, New Belgium Brewery and Ben & Jerry’s, as well as local businesses like Townshend Cellar and the Grain Shed prove that value-driven business is profitable.
Prioritizing people and the planet over profit should be standard business practice. The behavior of companies impacts everyone. We can’t afford to prioritize the financial success of a small subset of businesses over the success of other businesses, individuals, communities and the environment. We need to shift from a paradigm that says people and the environment serve business to one that acknowledges business needs to serve and protect people and the environment.
We can only accomplish this when business leaders change their perspectives the way they did during Expo ’74. When trade associations like GSI consider the impacts to the citizens of their communities when deciding what is best for business. While we vigorously disagree with GSI’s and the Association of Washington Bussiness’s position and attempt to relax EPA regulations, we plan to remain a member of GSI to help shift the conversation and to encourage the broader business community to use business as a force for good.
Kara Odegard is a senior consultant and founder at Measure Meant, a Spokane-based company advising organizations on sustainability and climate-related practices. She also teaches climate action planning as an adjunct instructor at Gonzaga University.