(The Center Square) – Facing $30,000 in fines, the small town of Spangle, Wash. – located about 18 miles south of downtown Spokane – has less than a month to pay up after settling a federal lawsuit last Thursday at the expense of around 300 taxpayers.
The case centered on alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, a federal law that regulates the discharge of pollutants through environmental permits. The process limits the type and amount of contaminants that municipalities can release into local waterways, including Spangle Creek.
Spokane Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental watchdog, filed a lawsuit against Spangle back in 2021. The two parties went back and forth for nearly three years before reaching a settlement last week, approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on June 26…