Author: Emily Hasz
THE DIRT: Land use transfers to support economic development and recreational opportunities in the Silver Valley
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) finalized three land transfers and a renewable lease agreement for property located within the Bunker Hill Superfund Site, helping advance local economic development and recreational opportunities.
These actions, done in partnership with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR), Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), and the city of Kellogg, provide almost 200 acres for public recreation and economic expansion.
“DEQ is excited to support new land use now that the cleanup work is complete for these properties,” said Dan McCracken, DEQ’s Coeur d’Alene Regional Office Administrator. “We believe that these transfers will help provide safe outdoor recreation access and promote local economic activity throughout the area.”
William Niska, manager of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, said the move will open exciting opportunities for recreators along the 73-mile trail, giving users a place to rest and recuperate. “We appreciate DEQ’s willingness to support something new with the campground, which will reclaim this once-damaged ground for positive public use,” he said.
“The transfer of DEQ property to the city of Kellogg is viewed as a very forward-looking asset for the local community,” said Mike Fitzgerald, Public Works Director for the city of Kellogg.
The first transfer includes property located on the east side of Government Gulch Road. DEQ transferred the 9.8-acre parcel to a local excavating company, DG&S, providing an opportunity to construct a new facility and expand operations.
The second includes an approximately 140-acre property lease agreement with IDPR for a bike-in campground along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. The campground will have 26 bike-in/walk-in sites, a restroom/shower house, tent pads, and power hookups for recharging devices and e-bikes. Construction is planned for 2025.
The third includes a 40-acre parcel transfer to IDFG to expand an existing Wildlife Management Area north of I-90 and west of the Shoshone County Airport. The added property will help improve wildlife habitat and extend recreational opportunities.
The fourth transfer allows the city of Kellogg to designate the existing Government Gulch Road, previously a private access point, as a public right of way. Transfer of approximately four acres to the city creates local development and recreational opportunities.
Through these land transfers, DEQ and the State of Idaho are supporting the local economy and ensuring the Silver Valley is an area where people can live, work, and play.
The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
THE DIRT: Local Students Show Us How to Avoid Lead Exposure
Panhandle Health District’s Lead Health Intervention Program (LHIP) has recently completed the second year of its Lead Awareness Poster Contest.
Each year, area third through fifth-grade students are asked to create posters demonstrating how to avoid lead exposure. These posters allow students to showcase what they learn each spring when PHD’s LHIP visits each area school to teach students how to avoid lead exposure through fun, interactive lessons.
This year Harrison Elementary, Pinehurst Elementary, and Silver Valley Christian Academy students submitted a total of 58 posters for consideration. The winners of this year’s contest include Roscoe Rauch, from Harrison Elementary, and Hyrum Creswell and Madison Johnson, both from Pinehurst Elementary.
All students’ posters were proudly displayed in honor of Lead Poisoning Prevention Week October 20th – 26th. The posters will remain on display through November 8th to give the public a chance to admire the students’ hard work.
Feel free to stop by PHD’s Kellogg office anytime Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 35 Wildcat Way in Kellogg, Idaho.
Please contact PHD at 208-783-0707 for more information about this contest or to learn ways to avoid lead exposure in our area.
The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Committee, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
THE DIRT: Understanding the Coeur d’Alene Work Trust
The cleanup work being done in the “Basin” of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site is funded in a unique and sustainable way. When a potential responsible party is identified at a Superfund Site, the EPA works to pursue all sources of funds to ensure the responsible party pays for cleanup and not taxpayers. In 2009, ASARCO applied for bankruptcy allowing the EPA to pursue environmental claims resulting in a settlement that must go toward environmental cleanup and restoration at the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. The settlement from the Asarco bankruptcy was placed with the Coeur d’Alene Work Trust (Trust) to support cleanup work for this area.
The Trust is a product of that ASARCO settlement and is an environmental remediation trust which allows management of settlement funds while also paying for environmental remediation. Its beneficiary is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with assets mainly consisting of money and properties. This collaborative effort is highly effective as both parties work together to complete the cleanup work. Their procurement process uses the marketplace to achieve the best value possible. EPA decides what environmental actions the Trust undertakes and approves their annual budget which currently stands at $30 million a year. The Trust and EPA have settled on a 10-year prioritization and planning tool, meeting several times a year to talk about future challenges and how best to proceed.
The Trust is very well defined on costs and cleanup, as these funds must be used in the Upper and Lower Basin, not in the original 21-square mile “Box” where other settlement agreements are set aside for those costs. Upper Basin remedial actions include work such as repository management, stream and riparian stabilization, and source control at mine and mill sites. Work in the Lower Basin includes recreational areas, wetlands, and work in the river, which will eventually start with pilot projects in the Dudley and Cataldo Reaches.
The Trust started at just over $436 million and has spent $234 million so far. The current value of the Trust is $618 million. Their gross investment continues to grow, earning sufficient money to pay for the Upper Basin Record of Decision (ROD) and fund additional Lower Basin projects as well. Their portfolio is conservative with investments into different types of securities with very slow or rare changes made.
Another focus of the Trust is local labor. Currently, 80% of the construction workforce must come from the three local Idaho counties. In 2023, 86% of construction contractors and sub-contractors working on the site were local. They estimate over the last 14 years, the economic impact has been over $200 million.
The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Committee, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
THE DIRT: 30-year Water Quality Trends show improvements are being made
Water quality data was collected throughout the Bunker Hill Superfund Site before remediation work began, giving a reference point to compare data as work is completed. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recently studied data going back 30 years to determine if water quality has improved after decades of remedial work.
Data from 1990 to 2018 indicate there is a dramatic downward trend in dissolved zinc concentration and loads throughout the South Fork Coeur d’Alene (SFCDA) River and Main Coeur d’Alene (CDA) River to the Spokane River. The total lead concentrations and loads also decreased at Pinehurst and Spokane River locations, but at Harrison, data indicates there may be a slight increase. Overall, total lead concentrations and loads have decreased 25-75% over this period except for loads at Harrison.
The USGS observed a sharp decrease in dissolved zinc concentrations and loads during the first part of the 30-year trend but that decrease flattened out over time. Similarly, total lead initially trended downward at most of the locations sampled with the exception of Harrison where an increase was observed from 1999-2009 and a flat trend in more recent years.
Previous work indicated that most of the dissolved zinc is coming from the SFCDA River from sources such as groundwater from the Central Impoundment Area. The majority of particulate lead is coming from the main stem of the CDA River where contaminated sediment that has been transported downstream from historic mining activity and deposited throughout the Basin continues to enter the waterway.
From 2003 to 2018, the SFCDA River remained the main source of dissolved zinc. Also, similar amounts of zinc entered and exited Lake Coeur d’Alene most years. Lead is a different story, with the majority still coming from the main stem of the CDA River including the lateral lakes, wetlands, and floodplains. Upward or flat trends are seen at Harrison as much lead is still in the system. Only limited remedial activities have occurred on the mainstem CDA River to date, so lead loads have not decreased.
These trends show water quality improvements have been made through remediation work and the Central Treatment Plant upgrades. This study provides evidence that remediation work is improving water quality and also points to areas that still need attention.
The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
THE DIRT: Community input needed!
Effective communication can help resolve conflicts, prevent misunderstandings, and is essential for building and maintaining relationships. Creating an open line of communication is a great step towards building trust within a community. With this in mind, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking your input on their new Community Involvement Plan (CIP) for the Bunker Hill/Coeur d’Alene Basin Superfund Site.
A CIP is a site-specific strategy to enable meaningful community involvement throughout the Superfund cleanup process. Once completed, the final plan will describe how EPA will provide information and coordinate with partners and communities on site cleanup activities.
To create a plan that meets people’s needs, EPA wants to better understand how people in the community currently receive and prefer to receive site-related information. EPA is seeking interested community members who want to help in the creation of the new CIP.
To develop the new CIP, EPA will need to learn about the community’s needs, concerns, and expectations. To achieve this, the EPA wants to speak directly with community members to determine their thoughts about the cleanup, impressions of EPA, how they currently get information about the cleanup, and what precautions they take before, during, and after recreating in the area.
The intent of the CIP is to create a road map for informing and involving the community in the cleanup process. To create an effective plan, they need your help. Community Involvement Coordinators Debra Sherbina and Rafi Ronquillo will be visiting the Silver Valley later this month to meet in person and talk to interested community members willing to help facilitate the development of the CIP. They will be available to meet with the public in Panhandle Health District’s Conference Room at 35 Wildcat Way in Kellogg on September 25th and 26th between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Please stop by to meet with them.
The EPA anticipates the updated CIP will be completed the winter of 2024-2025. For more information or to set up a time to meet and discuss your ideas and concerns, contact Rafi Ronquillo at ronquillo.rafi@epa.gov or Debra Sherbina at sherbina.debra@epa.gov. They welcome your ideas for improving EPA’s community involvement program at any time.
The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
THE DIRT: The Central Treatment Plant’s upgrades are making an impact!
There are many clean-up actions and remedies currently taking place in the Bunker Hill Superfund Site that are intended to improve the water quality of the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. These remedies often take time before their effectiveness is quantified and determined. Recent studies have shown that some of these remedies are making great improvements.
The Central Treatment Plant (CTP) that is located near the Central Impoundment Area (CIA) in Kellogg was upgraded and completed in 2021 to treat ground water and mine water waste. The CTP upgrades were necessary to treat and meet current, more stringent discharge requirements. The design included a ground water collection system that consists of a soil bentonite cutoff wall between the CIA and Interstate 90 that blocks contaminated groundwater flow to the river. The contaminated groundwater is pumped back to the CTP where it is treated and discharged back into the SFCDA following current water quality standards. The CTP was also designed to treat Acid Mine Drainage, which is acidic and laden with metals, that continually flows out of the Bunker Hill Mine.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) did a seepage study to help understand the impacts of the upgrades at the CTP to surface water. They utilized data that was collected in 2017 which was before the upgrades were made. They sampled again in 2022 to look at differences after the remediation was completed. A seepage study measures the amount of water at two points and subtracts the upstream from the downstream to get the specific portion coming into or out of the river. They must also factor in inputs and outputs, like tributaries coming in or anything exiting out.
The USGS’s comparison study showed significate reduction in contaminants of concern. Their study showed an 86% reduction in zinc, an 81% reduction in Cadmium, and an 88% reduction in Phosphorus.
Field observations also support this data regarding phosphorus – in 2022, there was a lot less algae in the stream which correlates with the reduced phosphorus loading. Also in 2022, the left riverbank near the seeps were noticeably drier than in 2017 which supports the bentonite wall is cutting off groundwater to this area. All of this is considered a success story with lower trace metals and nutrient loads reaching the CDA River and eventually CDA Lake.
The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Committee, and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
