Wastewater treatment: DOE mandate could extend Palouse plan

The city of Palouse may get more time to decide on a plan for its wastewater treatment plant after a change in requirements from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Informed at a meeting in Spokane Aug. 23 at the DOE’s Eastern Region office, the city has been given a new target for reducing discharge of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB), a group of 209 man-made compounds used in manufacturing.

The change comes three months before Palouse’s deadline to set a plan by Dec. 31 to address nitrogen levels and a cooler overall effluence for the plant.

“The writing on the wall is the approach we...