History & Accomplishments

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Kootenai Environmental Alliance is the oldest membership supported non-profit conservation group in Idaho (formed in 1972) and one of the oldest in the Northwest. It has been a respected and influential environmental advocate for Kootenai County and the Idaho Panhandle for the last 35 years. Its mission remains the same since its founding: “To protect and restore the environment with an emphasis on the Idaho Panhandle and the Coeur d'Alene Basin.”

WATER:

The Kootenai Environmental Alliance (KEA):

• Worked with three other organizations—League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club, Spokane Audubon—and successfully advocated for sole source designation of the Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Valley Aquifer;
• Had a representative on the State and County Aquifer Advisory Policy Committee that proposed regulations regarding critical material storage and the handling of any chemicals on property that lies over the Aquifer.  The regulations were adopted and implemented by the Panhandle Health Department;
• Was a member of a coalition of environmental and union groups that prevailed at two hearings that resulted in the denial of the request to withdraw 17 million gallons of water per day from the Rathdrum aquifer by two power generating corporations;
• Was part of a coalition of state agency representatives, elected officials and stakeholders that put together the three year Bi-State Aquifer Study;
• Submitted a petition in 2002 to Idaho Dept of Water Resources to enact a moratorium on the issuing new water rights until the Bi-State Aquifer Study was completed. IDWR denied the request, and instead it designated the Rathdrum aquifer as a Ground Water Management Area;
• Was a member of the Aquifer Protection District Steering Committee that drafted legislation for the creation of the Rathdrum Aquifer Protection District. The legislation passed by the state legislature and went before the public that approved the ballot measure in 2006 authorizing the District;
• Has protested excessive requests for water rights (Application for Permits) since 2003, negotiated settlements with many of the applicants resulting in a significant reduction in their water request, and an acceptance of a yearly water volume limitation on their permits, which is not currently required by Idaho water law;
• Is a partner with the City of Coeur d'Alene and the City’s Water Department for the promotion of water conservation. KEA’s work with the City and the Coeur d'Alene Water Dept has contributed to the installation of low water use landscaping at the new library, the installation of sophisticated irrigation devices in four City parks and a rebate program for their customers who purchase water saving irrigation devices;
• Negotiated with the City of Post Falls to establish the only mandatory water conservation measure in the region.

LAND USE

The Kootenai Environmental Alliance:

• Held a series of ten land use workshops in conjunction with the Kootenai County League of Women Voters;
• Helped to facilitate the formation of neighborhood groups and mentor them on land use issues;
• Held a series of workshops for the neighborhood groups helping them formulate cogent comments on the Comprehensive Plan Revision that was submitted to the Kootenai County Planning Commission;

OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Kootenai Environmental Alliance:

• Established, in a lawsuit filed against the Panhandle Yacht Club, the State Board of Land Commissioners and the Idaho Dept. of Lands, that the public trust doctrine applies to state-owned surface and submerged lands within the state. KEA opposed the construction of the Panhandle Yacht Club in 1978 and appealed the Land Board’s decision to permit construction to the Idaho Supreme Court. The Court denied KEA’s appeal in a 1981 decision;
• Negotiated a settlement to a lawsuit that KEA filed against the Idaho Department of Transportation that forced them to withdraw plans for interchange on I-90 which would have aversely impacted fish habitat;
• Prevailed in a lawsuit against the State Land Board that resulted in a settlement with the Hagadone Corporation in which they agreed to pay an equitable lease fee for the use of Lake Coeur d'Alene for its golf course, and assured continued public usage of the east end of Sanders Beach;

• Prevented the dumping of toxic residues from the aluminum re-smelting plant in the local landfill and/or its use as road fill;
• Was instrumental in the protection of Tubbs Hill (important recreation area in downtown Coeur d’Alene) from unrestricted development;
• Has held weekly public meetings for thirty years, now biweekly, that provides an opportunity for the public to hear experts and political candidates address local, regional, and national environmental issues;
• Has initiated a pilot office paper/cardboard-recycling project in February 2002 in the office building it shares with 20 other tenants.  The amount of material going to the landfill has been reduced by 50%;

• Has worked with The Lands Council and The Ecology Center in challenges to illegal timber sales that has resulted in an approximate 75% percent reduction of timber sold on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests and on the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District;
• Were plaintiffs in a suit with three other conservation groups that stopped the illegal and destructive Douglas-fir Beetle timber sale (2001), the largest ever timber sale in this region.