By Rachael Osborn, Chapter Litigation Chair
For many, the Spokane River provides a wilderness escape without ever leaving the city’s limits. As it meanders through downtown Spokane, the river tumbles over spectacular waterfalls and into a deep gorge. It also provides whitewater excitement at the Bowl & Pitcher and Devil’s Toenail rock formations when it flows through Riverside State Park. Bordered by the 60-mile long Centennial Trail, the Spokane River is celebrated by boaters, fishers, and recreationists of all stripes.
Despite its charms, however, the River is threatened. During summer months, due to past allocation of water rights, river flows often fall to very low levels. This water depletion threatens redband trout and makes it difficult to navigate, even for shallow bottom boats. In addition, water quality is compromised by sewage effluent and toxic chemicals like PCBs.
To advocate for flow protection, the Upper Columbia River (UCR) Group of the Sierra Club created a photographic atlas of Spokane River flows. The atlas was compiled through a boater survey, testimony from local outfitters and fly shops, and reports from EWU fisheries guru Professor Al Scholz and river recreation experts at Confluence Consulting.
Despite this substantial public record, which was backed by thousands of Sierra Club member comments, the Department of Ecology adopted an extremely low instream flow for the River. This was deeply disappointing because such a low instream flow could lead to even more allocated water rights in the future, further depleting the River’s flows and harming recreational use.
That’s why we at the Sierra Club are thrilled by the Appeals Court’s ruling that Ecology was wrong to focus just on fisheries. On June 26th, the State Court of Appeals ruled that Washington’s new instream flow rule failed to protect recreational and aesthetic uses of the River. This ruling marks twenty years of advocacy to protect Spokane River flows, and provides a historic court victory to the Sierra Club and its allies.
The Court remanded the Spokane River instream flow rule to the agency for a do-over, which will provide new opportunities for Sierra Club members to fully protect this important natural landmark. Washington’s laws protect multiple public uses of rivers, including navigation, fish and wildlife, scenic beauty, and water quality.
While we are buoyed by this victory, the Sierra Club will continue to give voice to this beautiful and beleaguered river, fighting for a rule that protects all public interests.
The UCR Group has a long legacy as protectors of the Spokane River. Past victories include settlements to restore water to the Spokane Falls and to prevent sewage overflows into the River, a ruling rejecting water rights for two huge water-guzzling power plants, and a court order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop a PCB cleanup plan for the River. UCR Group has also advocated for mining pollution cleanup, healthy forest practices, increased water conservation, and many other actions that protect the River.
If you’d like to join this effort, please contact the Upper Columbia River Group at waltsoe@allmail.net.
Sierra Club thanks our attorneys at Western Environmental Law Center, and our allies American Whitewater and Center for Environmental Law & Policy, for their critical assistance in this important victory, which will protect rivers across the state.