Misinformation Spills From Superfund Ruling Officials Say Talk Of Victory, Doom Is Highly Premature

It’s too soon to declare that mining pollution in Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River poses no threat to humans.

And it’s too soon to declare the entire Coeur d’Alene River Basin is exempt from federally mandated cleanup, Washington state and federal officials say.

Instead, work on both of those questions will continue despite a federal court ruling last week. That ruling said the Environmental Protection Agency has not taken the right steps to spend Superfund money outside the Bunker Hill area.

The ruling came as part of a Justice Department lawsuit to recover costs of cleaning up a century of mining pollution in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin. U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge’s ruling is far from the last word on mining pollution or who pays the bill.

But it has touched off spin control wars with mining and business community leaders claiming victory and an environmental group predicting doom.

Neither is accurate, say government attorneys and environmental officials.

“I think people will put whatever spin on this decision serves their interest,” said Cliff Villa, an attorney for EPA. “We will continue the work we’ve begun on the Coeur d’Alene Basin, and we will continue talking to the community.”

Community Leaders for EPA Accountability Now!, a conglomerate of Coeur d’Alene area business leaders, declared the basin safe in the wake of the court ruling. Federal, state and local agencies “all agree, have already publicly recognized there are NO public health or safety risks in Lake Coeur d’Alene or the Spokane River,” the community leaders’ press release said.

“That’s completely false,” said Jani Gilbert of the Washington Department of Ecology. “In no way are we saying we have no public health or safety concern. We don’t have enough information to say that.”

That’s why Ecology is conducting a survey of how much fish people consume from the Spokane River.

It’s also why Washington state wants the EPA to probe mining pollution that’s traveled the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane river corridors from the Silver Valley to Spokane, Gilbert said.

EPA attorney Villa agrees there have been no such sweeping statements about zero risk.

“We need to look at the cumulative effect of mining pollution to human pollution before we make that determination,” Villa said. “For example, if you ate fish regularly and you already had exposure to lead in your home, would that be enough to put a person at risk?”

Mike Gearheard, also an EPA official, said people may be confused by statements that relate strictly to the water in the lake.

“There I have said we generally don’t see direct drinking water standard violations, except during periods of very high flows,” he said.

The mining industry, which won the court ruling, says Lodge’s decision is the call to quit studying.

“The government cannot access taxpayer money at this point, to pay for remediation,” said industry spokeswoman Holly Houston. “Instead of wasting so much taxpayer money on studies in the basin, the best option for the government is to work cooperatively with the companies on achieving cleanup.”

The mining companies, including Hecla Mining Co., Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp., Sunshine Mining Co., Callahan Mining Co. and Asarco Inc., have committed $40 million toward cleanup at the Bunker Hill site. And they have promised another $40 million to pay for cleanup outside Bunker Hill’s 21 square miles, Houston said.

Villa said he’s not seen any legally enforceable commitment from the mining companies to pay for cleanup outside the site. That doesn’t mean the federal government can’t make it happen.

“We can do more than study,” Villa said. “We can make decisions on cleanup actions that need to be taken and we can require parties to undertake cleanup.”

The key difference, in light of Lodge’s ruling, is that private parties will be handed the bill - not taxpayers through the Superfund trust fund, Villa said.

But that may mean there’s less money available to get rid of the lead, cadmium and zinc-laced waste, The Lands Council said in a press release issued after Lodge’s ruling. “The metals are still flowing through the watershed and causing damage to human health and the ecosystem,” said Michelle Nanni of the Council’s “Get the LEAD OUT!” campaign.

EPA insists it’s too soon to declare what health threats exist.