The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site - also known as the Coeur d'Alene Basin cleanup - is located primarily in northern Idaho. It was first added to EPA's National Priorities List of contaminated sites in 1983.
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Mark your calendars! The Citizens Coordinating Council invites you to a public Open House on June 4, 2013. Drop in any time between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm, at the Wallace Inn, 100 Front Street, Wallace, ID. Learn about plans for a new waste repository coming to the Lower Burke Canyon. Early designs are now out for public review until June 28th.
Thank you! We received 42 proposals for pilot projects in the Lower Basin from 20 different individuals/organizations! Thank you so much for helping us scope early cleanup possibilities. We will carefully consider your input and make decisions by July.
Interim ROD Amendment for Upper Basin and Box
2012-2022 Implementation plan is now available.
Coeur d'Alene Basin Cleanup Activities
Yard cleanups
Upper Basin and "Box"
In 2012, EPA changed the Record of Decision - or ROD - for cleaning up the Upper Basin. The ROD is a "road map" that defines the scope and scale of cleanup needed to meet our goals. You will have many opportunities to give input, ask questions, and influence the work throughout the cleanup process.
Lower Basin
EPA's data collection and analysis efforts in the Lower Basin continue to improve our understanding of contaminated sediment transport and disposition throughout the Lower Basin. This understanding is supporting the development and evaluation of cleanup alternatives to address mining waste contamination issues in the Lower Basin. The Upper Basin cleanup is expected to complement cleanup activities in the Lower Basin by reducing the flow of contaminated sediments and reducing the potential for recontamination from the Upper Basin to the Lower Basin.
Mine and mill cleanups
Waste Repositories
Contaminated soil from cleanups of residential and commercial properties is contained in waste repositories to reduce impacts to people and the environment. Waste respository locations for Bunker Hill include the East Mission Flats Repository and Page Waste Repository.
Other Cleanup Activities
Completed cleanup work
Institutional controls
The Panhandle Health District manages the Institutional Controls Program - a locally-enforced set of regulations that ensure clean soil and other protective barriers placed over contamination remain protective of public health.
Site Summary
The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site - also known as the Coeur d'Alene Basin cleanup - is located primarily in northern Idaho. It was first added to EPA's National Priorities List of contaminated sites in 1983.
The Site includes mining-contaminated areas in the Coeur d’Alene River corridor, adjacent floodplains, downstream water bodies, tributaries, and fill areas, as well as the 21-square-mile Bunker Hill “Box” where historical ore-processing and smelting operations occurred. The EPA has divided the Bunker Hill Superfund Site into three Operable Units(OUs):
- OU1 - Bunker Hill Box ("the Box") populated areas - a 21 square mile area that includes the cities of Kellogg, Wardner, Smelterville, and Pinehurst
- OU2 - Bunker Hill Box non-populated areas- comprises the non-populated areas of the Bunker Hill Box
- OU3 - Coeur d’Alene Basin ("the Basin") - includes all areas of the Coeur d’Alene Basin outside the Bunker Hill Box where mining-related contamination is located. This includes 45 miles of the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, and its tributaries, and including the main stem of the Coeur d’Alene River down to the depositional areas of the Spokane River, which flows from Coeur d’Alene Lake into Washington State.
Lead contamination from historical mining practices poses a risk to people in the area, especially children. We're working with many partner organizations to help reduce this risk. Read more about the site's history »