Yacht Rock
Always critical at DTE because we’re optimistic to break a continuing cycle that is a Western legacy: Leaving things worse than when we found them.
Case in point: Lake Coeur’d Alene. Mining waste fouled it. Condo kool-aid came to town. And now they want to dredge the lake bottom to make room for yachts. In fact, “we’re going to need a bigger boat” could be the town slogan. The Idaho Department of Lands said okay on the planned expansion of the Marina Yacht Club on Blackwell Island, located where the lake flows into Spokane River. (Detailed view HERE). Although the plan needs federal approval, the idea is a cheap metaphor for a town drunk on excess while the astonishing beauty of the water means nothing more than dollar signs and a toxic hangover. (We imagine Duane Hagadone on his boat like Rodney Dangerfield in “Caddyshack.” No respect.)
What lies beneath the surface is the problem, a true hazard to public health. According to the S-R, “the new marina’s design calls for 420 boat slips, plus space for 128 personal watercraft. As part of the work, 46,000 cubic yards of sediment [admin. note: we were first told 120,000 cubic yards] tainted with heavy metals will be dredged from the channel. Hagadone Hospitality plans to dispose of the sediment on Blackwell Island in lined and unlined pits, depending on the level of pollutants.”
This isn’t the first attempt by the Marina Yacht Club, and the same questions are coming up regarding the lake bottom.
“The Lake Management Plan does not call for dredging of the lake bottom because it’s thought that leaving the contaminated soils in place is a safer management solution,” attorney Rick Eichstaedt said here at the Center For Justice two months ago. “So this proposal sets a negative precedent. We don’t have a plan for dealing with dredging like this in the lake.” Eichstaedt also added he’s concerned about the close connection between the lake, the river, and the underlying Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie aquifer which to our shock is only eighty feet beneath the surface in the planned area for digging.
The coup-de-grace: A proposed dumping area for the sediment is in a floodplain. (Sound familiar?) The Kootenai Environmental Alliance commented, “to deepen the marina, the proposal calls for de-watering portions of the site, excavation of the sediments on the bottom, and disposal of the sediments – many of which are quite toxic – on the island itself, which lies almost entirely in the Spokane River flood plain. We are very concerned with the long-term safety and reliability of the disposal scheme, particularly with a lack of independent monitoring at the site – both during the project period and afterward.” The KEA is a much needed organization considering the environmental degradation to Lake Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding forests and waterways. You can read their full comments to the yacht club HERE.
But the next step is for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to evaluate if discharges of dredged and filled material would violate water quality standards. After their conclusion, a decision will be made at the federal level with the Army Corps of Engineers.
We’ll keep you posted as the story develops, and hopefully the two classic underdogs in Northern Idaho---nature and public health, of course--- will emerge a winner this time.
