"The Coeur d'Alene Tribe made a funding gesture this week that should be welcomed in both Idaho and Washington.

The tribe owns only a third of Lake Coeur d'Alene, but it has offered to pay half the cost of carrying out a lake management plan intended to contain the heavy metals now lying relatively safely in the sediment beneath the water. If the plan doesn't work, or doesn't get implemented, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is expected to intervene and declare a Superfund site.

Therefore, a lot rides on whether the Idaho Legislature will come up with nearly $400,000 to cover the remaining half of the cost. Water quality and public health issues are at stake on both sides of the state line."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Tribe's offer timely (The Spokesman Review 2/11)

Earlier Story:
Tribe willing to pay half tab of new lake plan (The Spokesman Review 2/7)