07/05/2008

By JOHN MILLER  / Associated Press

Penalties and payments in a botched 2001-2002 northern Idaho highway project that sent tons of sediment into Lake Coeur d'Alene's Mica Bay have now topped at least $1.7 million after the state Transportation Department was forced pay another $325,000 fine for violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

The state highway agency said it must pay the latest Environmental Protection Agency fine due to "technical violations" of the law meant to protect the nation's water supplies, not actual water pollution.

"It's a complex process, with a myriad of deadlines," agency spokesman Jeff Stratten said on Saturday, of the latest fine. "Those deadlines are inflexible and those protocols must be followed exactly."

Though the state characterized the problems as "technicalities," EPA officials in Seattle said they disagreed. They said the state fell short of commitments it had made to prevent similar costly environmental accidents.

"No one likes to do paperwork, but when that paperwork includes things like stormwater prevention plans and training plans to ensure contractors are trained properly, I don't see how they can brush them off as technicalities," said Mike Bussell, director for compliance and enforcement for the EPA in the Northwest. "It leads me to believe they're not taking these things as seriously as they should be."

During reconstruction on a stretch of U.S. Highway 95 near Lake Coeur d'Alene begun in 2001, crews failed to provide adequate storm water controls, allowing sediment to pour into Mica Creek that flows into Mica Bay.

A 2-million-gallon pond designed to catch muddy runoff failed several times. Mica Bay homeowners contended this created a large tongue of mud that left water just knee-deep in places, killed aquatic life and impeded boats.

In May 2006, the Idaho Transportation Department and a contractor that did the work, Seattle-based Scarsella Brothers, Inc., agreed to pay $895,000 to settle a federal EPA lawsuit. The state's share was $495,000, while Scarsella paid $400,000 in what were the region's largest-ever fines for stormwater violations.

Separately, Scarsella Brothers agreed to pay another $500,000 to the Mica Bay Homeowners Association for property damage claims.

As part of the 2006 settlement between the state and the EPA, the Idaho Transportation Department committed to a five-year review of its statewide efforts to comply with federal clean water laws.

ITD and EPA agreed Thursday to the latest fine, which alleges the state agency failed to correctly fill out forms and was tardy in filing forms related to the 2006 settlement. Additional fines were levied for not reporting to the EPA that forms would arrive late and also because third-party inspectors didn't meet EPA training requirements, ITD said.

ITD officials said they were frustrated by the new fine, which came after months of negotiations.

"We are disappointed the EPA continues to focus on the technicalities of a complicated process rather than our efforts to keep Idaho's water clean," ITD Director Pam Lowe said in a press release. "I'm pleased how we have contained runoff from our construction projects and that no portion of the fine was for allowing dirty water into our streams, rivers and lakes."

Bussell said that Lowe's agency in the 2006 settlement agreed to provide all that information correctly and on time.

Lowe said she's working with the EPA to improve her agency's compliance with laws, including resolving administrative issues.

With the latest fine, settlement payments and fines paid by the state and private contractor related to the road-widening project come to at least $1.72 million.