ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20193
No(s). 97684-8 (Wash. Aug 6, 2020)

The Washington Supreme Court upheld the Department of Ecology's rule that set a summertime minimum instream-flow rate for the Spokane River at 850 cubic feet per second (cfs). Environmental groups challenged the validity of the flow rate, arguing that setting minimum flows at 850 cfs exceeded the Department's authority and was arbitrary and capricious. The court found that the Department had the authority to decide instream flows and to exercise its discretion in doing so, and that its promulgation of the summertime minimum flow rate was not unreasonable. It therefore reversed the appellate court's decision to the extent it reversed the trial court's dismissal of the suit.