04:40 PM MDT on Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Associated Press

COEUR D'ALENE -- U-S Representative Butch Otter says the federal government won't be matching five million dollars put up by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe for lake cleanup.

KREM The Coeur d'Alene Tribe pledged $5 million toward the clean up of Lake Coeur d'Alene. The federal government won't matching the offer.

Otter says it's too late in the appropriation process for Congress to do anything about the request.

Tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar says the tribe will give five million dollars toward a cleanup and management plan for Lake Coeur d'Alene, as long as the state and federal governments match the amount.

The lakebed is covered with tons of heavy metals from mining pollution.

Local businesses and governments want the lake removed from the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund oversight.

They say the designation hurts tourism. But the E-P-A won't remove the lake from the Superfund until there's a cleanup and management plan in place.

And the tribe says that without funding, any management plan will be useless.