Take your pick: "Snatching defeat f...

Take your pick: "Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory," "cutting distant from your nose to spite your face," "shooting yourself in the foot"

They all describe the refusal by the agency of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 to approve a voluntary cleanup plan for Lake Roosevelt In fact, the agency's position is in the same manner puzzling that some observers inquiring surprise if the EPA has a hidden agenda.

Lake Roosevelt is the giant reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam in central Washington. Teck Cominco, a Canadian company, has race a smelter at Trail, British Columbia, since the early