Crapo urges collaboration on fed issues

SANDPOINT — U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo told Bonner and Boundary county commissioners on Friday that he will continue to push for Environmental Protection Agency reforms despite “phenomenal partisan gridlock” in Washington, D.C.

Bonner County Commissioner Lewis Rich asked Crapo if he foresaw a change of tone with EPA.

“In the current administration, no,” Crapo, R-Idaho, answered.

Crapo sees hope of change if Mitt Romney manages to unseat President Barack Obama, but noted that George W. Bush held office for two terms but was unable to bring meaningful changes.

“The EPA is a bureaucracy that can outlast presidents,” said Crapo.

Crapo added that it would also require no less than 60 votes in the Senate to effect changes to EPA administration of the Clean Water and Endangered Species acts.

Boundary County Commissioner Dan Dinning asked what local officials could do to help the federal delegation accomplish its goals.

Crapo said commissioners are already helping by collaborating and forming grassroots coalitions that engage the public on federal issues that Panhandle communities must grapple with.

“You’re either at the table or on the menu,” said Bonner County Commission Chairman Cornel Rasor.

Both counties are immersed in the designation of critical habitat for woodland caribou and are pushing to have the amount of habitat reduced.

“We all want to see them recovered, but when it hinders people’s livelihoods, we need to re-look at that,” said Dinning.

Crapo underscored the importance of bringing together a broad array of stakeholders on an issue and bolstering positions with economic studies.

“It drives a solution that is better for the species and better for the economy,” he said.