Bunker Hill Superfund Site Q & A continues

We can’t thank you enough! When it comes down to it, caring people make a huge difference. You might not enjoy traveling slowly through construction areas, nor delight in waiting your turn for one-lane travel, but you certainly show you care about the safety of the men and women working along the shoulder of the road. Thank you so much for slowing down, keeping your eyes peeled, and sharing the road! This spring, contractors working along Silver Valley Road and Riverview Drive, near Kingston and Cataldo took note of your patience. DEQ’s contractors are now starting work in drier, Upper Basin communities like Placer Creek, Two-mile, Terror Gulch, Osburn, and Mullan. Construction this spring focused on Pine Creek, Kingston and Cataldo properties which were dry enough to work with. Most Lower Basin soils are not yet workable. Q: What kind of construction is going on under the Interstate 90 viaduct in Wallace? A: Soil replacement is taking place near the old Coeur d’Alene Foundry buildings on the east side of Wallace. Crews are removing surface material and placing clean gravel and asphalt in the area. Landowners helped DEQ, North Wind, and TerraGraphics layout the construction plan in consideration of nearby uses. Considerations include existing drainage issues, local businesses using the area, and travelers on adjacent roadways and the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene’s. Drainage issues are mended by controlling surface drainage and routing stormwater into the existing drainage system. A local business’s active loading ramp is placed away from the activity on the trail, and temporary signs are placed along the trail and roadways during construction. Q: What is Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s role in the cleanup? A: DEQ’s role in the cleanup includes three primary goals. First, we seek to protect the health of the people of Idaho. Next, we seek to protect the areas that have already been cleaned up. And finally, we seek to keep the community well-informed and engaged. Some of the ways DEQ has worked to protect people’s health include managing the property remediation efforts, conducting outreach on health risks and risk reduction, and supporting Panhandle Health District’s blood-lead testing and education programs. Since 1986 almost 6,000 properties have received soil replacement, grass cover, or gravel and asphalt cover. On the remedy protection front, DEQ actively seeks to prevent damage to the remedy from, for example, stormwater that might wash away the clean soil layer. As DEQ works to keep the public informed about our activities, risk reduction, and opportunities to be engaged, we need to hear from you. While part of my job is to offer timely, accurate information to as many people as possible, I also want to know what you are thinking. What issues do you care about? How does the cleanup affect you and the way you live your lives? What positive changes have you seen? I’d like to connect with you, to have opportunities for us to learn from each other, and to understand how your voice can influence the decisions that are being made about the cleanup. I recently spent a morning at Indelible Tidbits on Bank Street in Wallace where I watched a historical narrative by “May Hutton,” acted by Vickie Allmann. I was captured by Vickie’s depiction of May’s passion and spirit. I learned volumes about this place where I live and the people who were a part of the Silver Valley’s history. Thank you, Vickie and May! If you have a story to tell about living or working in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District, want to share what’s important to you, or want to learn more about our agency, then let’s get together.