DEQ set to OK poleyard cleanup
Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality is set to approve a plan to cap contaminated soils at an Oldtown, Idaho, poleyard.
The plan comes more than four years after teachers and community members complained that the fumes from chemicals Poles Inc. used to treat power poles were making teachers and students at the neighboring Idaho Hills Elementary sick. In the summer of 2002, the company stopped treating poles at the Oldtown facility.
Now, Poles Inc. has begun remediation efforts. Though the public has until Jan. 24 to comment on the plan and the DEQ has yet to give final approval, contaminated soil is already being consolidated at the site and capped with concrete.
The dirt is tainted with pentachlorophenol, the chemical used to treat the poles. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the chemical is a probable carcinogen.
Robert Bullock, the DEQ’s hazardous waste permit manager, said his agency’s regulations allow for Poles Inc. to begin remediation before the plan is approved. But because the DEQ hasn’t formally approved the plan, he said all work is being done at the company’s financial risk.
Owner Reid Tinling could not be reached for comment Monday.
According to the remediation plan, prepared by Coeur d’Alene’s Quantum Engineering, a leaking tank used to dip the poles caused a significant amount of contamination. The plan said the contamination “is likely to have migrated to the water table.”
As much as 700,000 cubic yards of soil may be contaminated at the 15-acre site, according to the DEQ. The plan said it would be impossible to excavate and remove all the contamination in that area. For that reason, the contaminated soil will be topped with contaminated soil from other areas of the poleyard and capped with concrete.
As much as a foot of soil or more will be removed from the other areas of the poleyard that were contaminated, according to the plan. More soil will be removed if there is visible staining or obvious odor, the plan says.
Bullock said the concrete cap will prevent the soil from being exposed to the weather. The contaminated area will be enclosed in a metal pole building.
The plan also calls for signs to discourage trespassers – especially near a trail through the property that locals have used as a shortcut to the school – and regular inspections and monitoring of the building, concrete cap, wells and the signs.
Quantum Engineering estimated remediation and construction of the building to store the contaminated soil will cost Poles Inc. more than $342,000. They estimated costs for continuous monitoring and inspections at $280,000.
In a letter this week, Oldtown resident Betty Gardner said she was concerned about the work that’s being done. She wanted to know if the effort was being properly supervised.
Even though the work is being done early, Bullock said, the DEQ’s regulations will be enforced. He said the DEQ will send “enforcement people” to make sure Poles Inc. complies with its plan.
“We do check up on them,” he said.
Gardner said she was upset that the DEQ didn’t make the plan available locally, so she drove the 120-mile round-trip to the regional office and purchased copies. She’s put copies of the plan in the libraries at Priest River and Newport, along with information on how the public can comment on the plan.
Bullock said the DEQ has put copies of plans in libraries in the past and the plans were compromised because people tore out pages instead of paying for copies. He said the plan is available at the regional DEQ office at 2210 Ironwood Parkway in Coeur d’Alene.