We’re working with our partners to protect the water quality in the Spokane watershed, clean up toxic chemicals, and manage and conserve water for local communities and the natural environment.
The Spokane River and its tributaries generally flows westward from its source at the outlet of Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho.The river drains an area of about 6,640 square miles; approximately one-third is in Washington, with the remainder of the watershed is in Idaho. Our collaborative efforts help us identify ways to improve the rivers and lake health so that people can continue to use the watershed for recreation, fish habitat, hydropower, and wastewater management.
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Why is the Spokane River watershed important?
The approximately 111 river miles of the Spokane River are home to many species of fish and other aquatic animals. The Spokane River watershed is a complex system that flows through the populated Spokane metropolian area, including Lake Spokane and many tributaries, such as Hangman Creek and the Little Spokane River. The majority of residents in these communities rely on the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer for drinking water. This federally designated ‘sole source aquifer’ has a dynamic relationship with the Spokane River with large interchanges between the aquifer and the river.
The watershed is facing many issues that can damage habitat, reduce water quality, and water quantity such as: stormwater runoff, loss of wetland habitat, streambank erosion, and historic use of toxic chemicals. See the Reducing Pollution section below for more specific information for pollution in specific waterbodies and our many projects. Because of the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish, the Washington Department of Health issued a Health Advisory for eating Spokane River fish.
Working to meet water quality standards with permits
We are proposing changes to our water quality permits to ensure the five Washington wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. The proposed clean water requirements include strict limitations (numeric limits) on pollutants like phosphorus and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We are also proposing best management practices (BMPs) for reducing PCBs in a comprehensive and practical way.
Check out our focus sheet for more information about the permit.
Final permit documents
Kaiser Aluminum - finalized April 11, 2022
On May 11, 2022, Kaiser Aluminum filled an appeal to their NPDES permit issued on April 11, 2022. Despite the appeal, the permit remains fully effective as of June 1, 2022.
Spokane County - finalized June 15, 2022
Completed comment periods
We held a comment period for Inland Empire Paper from March 4 to April 18, 2022 (extended 5/2/22). We held two workshops and public hearings. You can view the Inland Empire Paper presentation and the comments we received online. Also, we held comment period for Liberty Lake and Spokane County from March 18 to May 3, 2022. We held two workshops and public hearings. You can view the Liberty Lake permit presentation and the comments we received online. You can view the Spokane County permit presentation and the comments we received online. We held a second comment period on City of Spokane permit that ended June 10, 2022 you can view the comments we received online.
Next steps
After reviewing the feedback we receive, we will make decisions on permit reissuance for each facility. We plan to complete this work by spring 2022.
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Why are we updating the permits now?
We need permits that accurately reflect the facilities that are in operation to ensure compliance with all state standards.
We want to start the process of updating the permits because of the complexity of each permit; we plan to issue the draft permits individually or in groups of two. Staggering the release of the draft permits for comment will provide time for meaningful public review and discussion with tribes and stakeholders on each permit.
Who releases wastewater into Spokane River?
Five facilities currently release wastewater into the Spokane River:
Previous work
We started the rulemaking process to consider variances in 2019, as a first step to reissuing permits. However, we could not move into the formal rule proposal phase of this process because the federal government's action to withdraw previously-approved water quality standards for certain human health criteria, including PCBs. While EPA re-examines the water quality standards, we have prioritized the completion of these permits, which need to be updated to meet current water quality standards.
Reducing pollution from other sources
Water quality permits are only one of the tools we are using to improve the Spokane River water so people can continue to fish and recreate. We continue to work with partners to improve oxygen levels and reduce toxic chemicals, such as PCBs and metals.