Commission identifies new priorities

The Flathead Basin Commission has protected the regions waters since its creation in 1983, but recent internal turmoil left much for discussion at Wednesday’s meeting as members worked to identify new priority issues going forward.

Wednesday’s meeting focused primarily on narrowing down a list of potential focus areas for the commission to undertake over the next two years with the resources available.

Discussion among the 11 present members showed little of the discord that has plagued the commission since November, when state budget cuts stripped the organization of around 90 percent of its funding, leaving around $15,000 of the initial $150,000 budget for the 2018 fiscal year.

The commission’s executive director, Caryn Miske, was also terminated in February following numerous accusations of

misconduct made by Department of Natural Resources and Conservation officials.

With around $13,000 remaining in the commission’s budget for the year and an estimated $17,000 budgeted for the 2019 fiscal year, the commission faces capacity limitations as it attempts to refocus its purpose and decide what issues, roles, projects and groups it can and should support.

Of the seven focus areas brought to the table, septic leachate and water quality assurance took the place of aquatic invasive species as the commission’s new top priority.

With the Upper Columbia Conservation Commission taking the lead, with state backing, in the fight against aquatic invaders, commission members agreed that the organization no longer holds a leadership role in the issue, though it should remain on their agenda.

During the meeting, the commission also voted to introduce a septic leachate study bill that would call for the inspection of aging and faulty septic systems on or near Whitefish, Flathead and Echo lakes.

The commission’s administrator, Kate Wilson of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, hopes to get the study bill on the legislature’s July agenda.

The commission agreed that the growing issue of septic pollution in the region’s lakes necessitated an agency to spearhead efforts to monitor pollution, collaborate with other agencies on public education and to inspire legislative action.

Concerns that would fall under the septic leachate umbrella include storm water, subsurface, pharmaceuticals and total maximum daily loads.

Behind septic leachate, the commission prioritized “orphan issues,” or issues considered but not dealt with by other local organizations.

These would potentially include the monitoring of mining operations and trans-boundary issues, as well as other items that fall through the cracks of other agencies.

Lower priority items that will remain on the commission’s radar included climate change, the Flathead River Management Plan and the Columbia River Treaty.

The commission will reconvene in October to further discuss its role in each of the priority issues and assess any opportunities or threats presented by each.

For more information about the Flathead Basin Commission, visit http://flatheadbasincommission.org/.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.