BILL REQ. #:  S-3877.1 

Read first time 01/22/2004.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water.

     TO THE HONORABLE DIRK KEMPTHORNE, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE IDAHO SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE IDAHO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF IDAHO:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and request as follows:
     WHEREAS, The Spokane River and Couer d'Alene basins are a shared watershed in which more than 400,000 people reside in communities in both Washington state and Idaho; and
     WHEREAS, The Couer d'Alene basin is one of the largest areas of historic mining operations in the world, in which more than one hundred million tons of mine waste are estimated to have been deposited in the area's rivers, streams, and soils; and
     WHEREAS, In 1983, a large area of the Spokane River/Couer d'Alene basin within both Idaho and Washington was designated as a single site under the federal Superfund law; and
     WHEREAS, In 2001, the Idaho Legislature authorized creation of the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission (hereinafter the "Basin Commission"), for the purpose of guiding the cleanup and natural resource restoration of that portion of the Superfund site within the state of Idaho; and
     WHEREAS, The Idaho Legislature subsequently authorized including a Washington state member of the Basin Commission, but that member does not share all of the voting and decisional authority of the rest of the Basin Commission members; and
     WHEREAS, Much of the mining waste contaminants are present in river and stream sediments, or in soils that may wash into rivers and streams, and therefore the downstream migration of contamination is an ongoing concern to the entire watershed; and
     WHEREAS, A comprehensive approach to cleanup of the entire watershed is needed, in which scheduling and implementation of clean-up activities are coordinated by all interests in both states; and
     WHEREAS, A greater degree of bistate cooperation and coordination will lead to a greater degree of public health and environmental protection, natural resource restoration, and economic benefits for all residents and businesses in both states;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Idaho Legislature and Governor take action as follows:
     (1) That the Basin Commission be modified expeditiously so that all members have equal voting rights;
     (2) That the membership of the Basin Commission be increased soon to include a representative of the county commission of Spokane county as appointed by the governor of the state of Washington; and
     (3) That the state of Idaho enter into discussions with the state of Washington with the objective of replacing the present commission with a bistate entity having the participation of local, state, federal, and tribal governmental interests throughout the bistate watershed to coordinate the environmental remediation and natural resource restoration throughout the portion of the Spokane River/Couer d'Alene basin area designated under the federal Superfund law, and to obtain state, federal, and tribal agreement to that entity not later than December 31, 2006.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Governor of the State of Idaho, the President of the Idaho Senate and the Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives, and to each member of the Senate and House of Representatives of Idaho.