The Idaho Public Utilities Commission will host two public workshops Tuesday to share information on an application from a northern Idaho water utility to increase the rates and charges for water service.

CDS Stoneridge Utilities, based in Blanchard, is seeking approval from the commission to increase rates. 

The North Idaho utility serves approximately 384 residential and commercial customers in the area. The utility said it has invested more than $900,000 in its system since 2018. To recover the investment, the utility is asking the commission for approval to increase rates for customers by an average of 261%.

Date: June 4
Times: 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m, and 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Blanchard Community Center, 684 Rusho Lane

Commission staff will be present to give an overview of the water utility’s application and to answer any questions from the public. 

For those unable to attend either workshop, a video presentation of it will be posted to the commission’s homepage in the “News Updates” section.

The commission is accepting written comments on the utility’s application until Aug. 7. Comments are required to be filed through the commission’s website or by e-mail using case number SWS-W-24-01. If computer access is not available, users can mail their comments to: 

Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0074

Additional information on CDS Stoneridge’s application is available on the Idaho Public Utilities Commission website here.

POCATELLO — Hundreds sang and prayed along the half-mile walk from St. John’s Catholic Student Center to Caldwell Park on Thursday. Residents stopped what they were doing — walking dogs, mowing grass, watering lawns — to look on as the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage passed through Pocatello en route to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

The Pilgrimage’s stop in Pocatello began with a visit to the St. John’s Catholic Student Center on the Idaho State University campus. More than 100 worshippers representing parishes from eastern Idaho and beyond filled the church and an overflow room.

But, as Bishop Peter Christensen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise said, Idaho was not on the original pilgrimage path. And, despite its late addition, the Gem State has seen the greatest number of people register to be involved of any state along the four routes, he said.

According to the pilgrimage’s website, four groups of pilgrims took to four separate preplanned routes, working their way through much of the Continental United States toward Indiana.

Christensen said the St. Junipero Serra Route, which began in San Francisco, was altered to add several stops in Idaho, including Fruitland, Emmett, Glenns Ferry and Pocatello, before continuing on to Salt Lake City.

Nancy Bevins, a resident of Hamilton, Montana, drove into town to be part of the pilgrimage.

“This is the closest it’s going to be to Hamilton,” she said. “I mean, I’m getting goosebumps just being here. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Following a brief stop inside St. John’s, the pilgrims, members of the St. John’s clergy and some 200 participants walked behind a cross-bearer and Christensen, who carried the Monstrance, a vessel used to carry the sacramental body of Christ during devotional ceremonies. They went about half a mile to Caldwell Park, where even more participants waited.

Lydia Noble, a Pocatello resident and former City Council candidate, was present at Caldwell Park. A member of the Catholic faith, Noble told EastIdahoNews.com how rare it is to see the Monstrance.

Noble also spoke about how important it is for people of the Catholic faith to take part in things like the Eucharistic Pilgrimage.

“It’s very important, that’s why I’m here,” she said. “It is a symbol of our faith, it is a special event, and the Monstrance is not usually displayed except for these events — that’s a big part of our faith.”

The Eucharistic Pilgrimage, according to its website, is “a beautiful fusion of the journey TO Jesus and the journey WITH Jesus.” Pilgrims began their separate journeys from California, Texas, Massachusetts and Minnesota and, as Bevins said, created a symbolic cross over the center of the nation with their routes.

Noble said she was momentarily surprised by the turnout, as she waited with what was around 50 people for the arrival of the procession.

“I’m very pleased (with the turnout),” she said. “When I first came — I was in Idaho Falls, so I didn’t make it at 4:30 — I cam straight here (to Caldwell Park), and there was hardly anybody here. But when the procession came around the corner there, it was a big relief.”

Bevins said she was not surprised by the turnout either, though she was surprised by how many people fit inside the St. John’s church.

“I didn’t know there were this many people inside,” she said. “I got here, and I was outside, I thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t many people.’”

The pilgrims prayed at Caldwell Park for blessings of love, grace and mercy, and both mental and spiritual direction on their journey.

Then, accompanied by their hosts from the Diocese of Boise and local churches, they continued to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church for a Holy Adoration, then to St. Joseph’s Chapel, where they worshipped until mass at 7 a.m. Friday.

Following Friday mass, the pilgrims were escorted to Preston, where they were joined by their hosts from the Salt Lake City Diocese.

According to the website, the Eucharistic Pilgrims will travel more than 6,500 miles — between the four routes — and be joined by more than 1,000 hosts and over 100,000 participants.

[BOISE] – Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, along with attorneys general from North Dakota, Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina, and South Dakota, sued the EPA and the Biden Administration to protect state rights over their water and wildlife resources.  Idaho and North Dakota are leading the coalition of states, which filed their complaint in the U.S. District Court in the District of North Dakota. 

The EPA’s new rule—dubbed the Tribal Reserved Rights rule—forces states to prioritize tribal claims over the rights of their citizens. The EPA claims authority under the Clean Water Act to require states to protect so-called “tribal reserved rights”—a concept that the federal government has never been able to consistently define—in designating uses for state waters and setting water quality standards. But as the name implies, the Clean Water Act is about preventing water pollution; it has nothing to do with guaranteeing alleged tribal rights involving state waters, like the right to ceremonial practices or the right to fish or hunt for preferred species at preferred levels.  The Final Rule clearly exceeds the authority established by Congress.

”The Biden Administration’s EPA must be held accountable for their unconstitutional overreach into the management of state resources and relationships,” said Attorney General Labrador.  “Idaho has 3100 miles of navigable waterways—more than any other state in the lower 48 and the CWA does not strip Idaho of its right to manage our rivers effectively. In fact, contrary to the EPA’s new rule, the CWA preserves state authority over its water resources.”  

The states are aggressively defending their rights and are asking the federal court to enjoin, and ultimately vacate, the new rule. Litigation is ongoing in this matter, so stay tuned.

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