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BOISE, Idaho - Northern Idaho lawmakers are lobbying their peers in the south and petitioning a joint legislative committee to examine how a proposed Montana mine will affect water quality here.

Located near the Clark Fork, which empties into Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille, the proposed Troy mine has been heavily disputed since the U.S. Forest Service's decision to reissue its approval of the proposed silver and copper mine in June 2003. That came about two months after a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opinion that the mine would not have significant effects on the recovery of bull trout or on grizzlies.

But Idaho lawmakers are concerned because Lake Pend Oreille is the major underground source of recharge for the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer - the sole source of drinking water for more than 400,000 people in Kootenai County and Spokane County in Washington.

Rep. Eric Anderson, a freshman Republican from Priest Lake, said lawmakers must get involved. Anderson said he's working with Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, and Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, to make southern Idaho lawmakers aware of the problem.

Keough and Eskridge proposed a legislative resolution expressing "grave concerns" about the proposed mine that didn't go far last year. The proposal was not even introduced last year to the House Resources Committee; opponents said it was inappropriate for Idaho lawmakers to mandate Montana's actions.

"While we realize our restrictions - we're limited by the Idaho-Montana border - we would like to be informed on the procedures because the mine tailings will be very close to the river," said Rep. Jack Barraclough, R-Idaho Falls, co-chairman of the Joint Legislative Environmental Common Sense Committee.

The committee, a collection of lawmakers, industry representatives, environmentalists and local governments, will discuss the proposed Rock Creek mine at its next meeting.

Jon Sandoval, chief of staff for the state Department of Environmental Quality,

said a study of the total maximum daily loads of pollutants in the Clark Fork River - part of a court-ordered effort to know the status of more than 100 Idaho streams with potential pollution concerns - is due

in June. Anderson recommended to the panel that the state use that study for the Clark Fork, which will receive wastewater from the mine, to have baseline data for comparison.

Sandoval said the panel asked him to check with the Montana DEQ and report back on the status of the mine.

"It's time that the state of Idaho talk to the state of Montana and find out why that permit was issued to begin with," said Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin. "I don't know if I'll get anywhere or not. I told the committee that I'm really looking for a sympathetic shoulder, and we're worried."

Larkin represents the Association of Idaho Cities on the committee. He will address the panel Feb. 23.

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