Dirty Martinis for Clean Water Tickets

Location and Hours

Community Building
35 West Main, Suite 300
Spokane, Washington 99201
(509) 835-5211

The Center for Justice is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except during the noon hour and on court holidays.

River Resources

The Spokane River Project

The Spokane River gives life to our area. And this is a critical time in the river’s survival.

Decisions made in the near future about dam relicensing, water clean-up, water quality permits, water rights, and in-stream flow protection will affect it for generations to come.

Out of a clear understanding about the importance of these issues to everyone in the community, the Center for Justice launched the Spokane River Project in 2004.

Mission

To provide high-quality legal representation to those groups and individuals working to protect and restore the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Watershed and Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Valley Aquifer.

As stewards of these resources, the Center and our clients work together to celebrate this two-state treasure and collaborate, educate, organize, and act to preserve its health now and in the future.

Staffed by Attorneys Rick Eichstaedt and Bonne Beavers, and River Project Coordinator Shallan Dawson, with support from volunteers and coordinators, the program is the only ongoing legal counsel for those who seek to protect the Spokane River.

Inadequate flow from Avista’s Post Falls Dam, overuse of the Spokane aquifer, problems with dissolved oxygen, and contamination from PCBs and heavy metals — plus a legacy of mining, dam building, logging, and unchecked development — have left their mark on the Spokane River watershed. Collectively, these issues are cause for public health concerns and contribute to the degradation of aquatic habitat and fishing resources.

Three Primary Objectives

We focus the Spokane River Project’s work on three primary objectives:
• Lessening the human impact on the river to increase the protection and speed the restoration of water quality and water quantity.
• Fostering institutional change among local and state decision makers and industrial river users to avoid future river degradation.
• Educating the local public about the importance of river issues and the need for river protection.

Current Issues

The Center envisions a community where those who live here and use the river and aquifer zealously protect both these vital resources. Take a look at some of the current issues affecting the river below, and please consider joining us.

Spokane River Dam Relicensing

The Center for Justice and its clients are vigorously involved trying to make sure that as Avista Corporation dams on the Spokane River get relicensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the environmental damage caused by dam operations is properly accounted for and reasonably remedied. In addition to the harm the dams inflict on native fish populations, the summer-time diversion of the river’s natural flows from the middle and north channels to Avista’s downtown Spokane powerhouse is a longstanding aesthetic blight. Both Idaho and Washington have important certification responsibilities (under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act) and our job is to try to make sure the state agencies do their jobs.

Read our Feature Story, “Same Dam Problems,” about this issue.

Sierra Club/CELP, Notice of Appeal 401
Inland Empire Paper, Notice of Appeal 401
Avista, Notice of Appeal 401

•CFJ Comments on Washington 401 Certification of Avista dams
•CELP/Sierra Club UCG Comments on Upper Falls flows
•CFJ News Story on Washington decision and reaction
•CFJ News Story on Idaho decision and reaction

Toxic Chemicals and Heavy Metals

The Center received a Department of Ecology Public Participation Grant to help raise awareness of toxic chemicals and heavy metals in the Spokane River. Through our efforts to restore the river and stop further threats, we intend to establish long-term protection for water quantity and quality in the Spokane River and the connecting aquifer. Further, we hope to cement their value as a source of drinking water, and recreational opportunities, as well as important fish and wildlife habitat.

The Spokane River Project Contaminant Guide

The guide covers the following topics: valuing the Spokane River, chemicals and heavy metals in our environment, chemicals and heavy metals in the Spokane River, sources and pathways, evaluating exposure and risk, fish consumption advisory and cleanup, status of toxic chemicals and heavy metals in the Spokane River, and FAQs

Ecology Technical Report on PCBs in Spokane Stormwater Run-off to River
Peter deFur, ESC, Technical Comments on behalf of Center for Justice
City of Spokane comments
Department of Ecology responses

Combined Sewer Overflows

The City of Spokane’s combined sewer overflows illegally discharge thousands of gallons of raw, untreated sewage into the Spokane River. We’re working with the city by applying legal tools intended to protect the river’s and the public’s health.

Wastewater Discharger Permits (NPDES Permits)

Our efforts center on ensuring wastewater discharger permits for facilities in Washington and Idaho meet all applicable water quality standards, protect human health, and preserve the environment. We also educate the public about getting involved in the permitting process.

Water Rights

Again, education makes a difference. We inform water purveyors about water conservation measures they can share with their customers. And we work to stop the issuance of water rights permits that fail to adequately incorporate water conservation or address their effects on the Spokane River and the aquifer.

Water Quality Restoration Plans (TMDLs)

We’re watch-dogging the TMDL (total maximum daily load) for the Spokane River, to make sure it meets all applicable federal, state, and tribal water quality requirements — and sets a course for cleaning up the Spokane River and its tributaries. Our public workshops educate the public on how the TMDL process affects the river and how local citizens can participate in the public process to approve these plans.

Idaho Post Falls dam (401 Certification) Comments

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality did not publish on its website the public comments the agency recently received regarding Avista’s Post Falls dam. So we thought we should post them on our website. The comments address how IDEQ should address the dam’s water quality impacts on the Spokane River as part of the federal relicensing of the dam. Our story about IDEQ’s decision can be found here. Read IDEQ June 5th certification letter.

Center for Justice
Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife
Hagadone Hospitality
Coeur d’Alene Tribe
Washington Department of Ecology
Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association
Jim Hollingsworth
Linda Greene
Cheryl Rose Costigan
Ron and Maryann Giddings
Dean Gentry
David Crafton (1)
David Crafton (2)
Jullie Dalsaso (1)
Julie Dalsaso (2)
Julie Dalsaso (3)