Blow ‘Em Up Or Save ‘Em, Smokestacks Expensive Epa To Decide Their Fate By End Of Year; Testimony Leans Toward Blowing Them Up

The future of the Bunker Hill smokestacks is going to be costly, regardless of whether they’re blown up or preserved.

Environmental Protection Agency officials said Thursday night that it will cost $400,000 to demolish the two largest stacks, built 18 years ago. The smokestacks are contaminated from years of lead and zinc smelting.

Leaving the stacks standing, officials said, would cost $120,000 for decontamination, plus $10,000 to $30,000 per year for aircraft lighting and maintenance.

The EPA will decide the fate of all four stacks in the former mining complex by the end of the year, said spokeswoman Krista Rave.

About 85 people came to the hearing at the Kellogg Middle School, virtually in the shadow of the giant stacks. After an hour of testimony, the blow-the-stackers seemed to have a slight lead over the save-the-stackers.

“I’ve waited 10 years for the stacks to come down,” said Smelterville businessman Cliff Marshall. “I think it (the tallest stack) is a moustache on the Mona Lisa.”

“Those concrete stacks are a symbol of pollution,” said Brenda Stinson.

“They’re a bad reminder of what Gulf (Resources Inc.) did to this district,” said Pete Piekarski, who worked in the smelter for 27 years. “If I want to remember mining, I’ll go to Wallace, where they remember mining, rather than dressing up the town like Kellogg did.”

“I’m for taking those stacks down and getting rid of the stigma of what they caused us,” said Joe Hauser, another former Bunker Hill worker.

The blow-the-stackers want to sell raffle tickets nationwide for the chance to trigger the explosions that would fell the stacks like giant concrete trees. The money would promote tourism and help fund a Kellogg youth center.

The save-the-stackers think that’s a short-sighted view. They propose saving at least the largest stack, 715 feet tall and 53 feet wide at the base, and using it as the centerpiece of a mining museum. Some people have proposed putting a revolving restaurant on top, or converting it into a motel or housing.

Museum proponent Ron Eggart said mining, railroad and utility companies - all of whom benefited from the Valley’s mining heydays - could be tapped for funding. “Tourists will be coming for years,” he said. “It’s not a one-blast deal.” Brenda Auld submitted 1,116 signatures in favor of saving the stacks.

“How can we say no to more jobs and more dollars in your cash registers?” she said.

John Groth is the man who maintains the stacks, replacing the bulbs in the airplane warning lights and fixing broken stairway brackets when the stacks flex in high winds. He contested the EPA’s maintenance figures, saying the amount was closer to $5,000 a year, total.

“I think felling them is just an excuse for another big drunk in Kellogg,” said his wife, Kathleen Groth.

Henry SiJohn, a tribal council member with the Coeur d’Alene Indians, drew laughter with his tongue-in-cheek suggestion. The tribe has pushed for a speedier cleanup of the valley for years.

“I think they should commemorate those stacks to EPA and DEQ (the state Department of Environmental Quality),” he said, “to show what can’t be done.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

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