Superfund Sites in Reuse in Idaho
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ARRCOM (Drexler Enterprises)
The 1-acre ARRCOM (Drexler Enterprises) Superfund site is about 3 miles southwest of Rathdrum, Idaho. From 1960 to 1982, ARRCOM ran a waste oil recycling facility on site. ARRCOM abandoned the site in 1982. Site operations and abandoned storage tanks contaminated soil and sludge. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. From 1983 to 1990, EPA cleaned up the area. Cleanup included removing contaminated soil, sludge and debris and taking it off site for disposal. It also included monitoring groundwater. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1992. Today, a home and an automotive repair business are on site.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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Blackbird Mine
The 10,830-acre Blackbird Mine is an inactive mine 25 miles west of the town of Salmon, Idaho. It is in the Salmon-Challis National Forest. From 1893 to 1982, several companies mined cobalt and copper on site, both underground using tunnels and aboveground in open pits. These activities resulted in the contamination of soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater with heavy metals. EPA proposed adding the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1993. EPA has not finalized the site’s NPL listing. Since 1995, the Blackbird Mine Site Group has collected and treated contaminated water, stabilized waste rock piles, covered an impoundment, and removed contaminated soil and sediment. Land use controls were also part of the cleanup. Monitoring is ongoing. The Noranda Mining Company continues to conduct reclamation activities at the mine. The Site’s ecological resources include several creeks. Site uses include residential, agricultural (primarily pasture) and recreational (fishing, hunting, sightseeing, camping) uses.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex
The Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund site is in Idaho’s Silver Valley. The Silver Valley is one of the largest historical mining districts in the world. Mining operations began in the area in 1883. Mine tailings, waste rock, and smelter operations contaminated the soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater with heavy metals such as lead. Tailings disposal in rivers and streams spread contaminants throughout the floodplain of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River. Tests found high blood lead levels in area children. In response, EPA added the 21-square-mile area around the old smelter to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983. Cleanup and ecological restoration around the lead smelter included the removal of lead-contaminated soil from residential and commercial properties and common use areas, the containment of mine tailings, and the planting of two million trees over 2,290 hillside acres. The Panhandle Health District, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) and EPA also developed a comprehensive Institutional Controls Program (ICP) for the site. It provides safe and clear procedures for maintaining the protective barriers that allow for ongoing development in the Silver Valley. Cleanup plans in parts of the site outside the smelter area address the Upper and Lower Basin, the Spokane River in Washington and Lake Coeur d’Alene. The work includes limited repair of roads and streets in community areas, projects that prevent flooding and recontamination in community areas already cleaned up, continued property remediation, and source controls at mine sites. In 2020, cleanup was partially completed in the Ninemile area of the Upper Basin. Cleanup and planning for other areas are underway. Lead levels in children have fallen to levels below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s current reference level. The Panhandle Health District, IDEQ and EPA continue to educate Silver Valley children about avoiding lead-contaminated areas and accidental lead ingestion, particularly for recreation areas. The site is now home to the Silver Mountain Resort, which includes a neighborhood, condominiums, commercial development, an indoor water park, a golf course and a ski area. Cleanup and the ICP facilitated additional development across the Silver Valley, including retailers, housing, a dialysis center and the 72-mile recreational Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. More than 1,800 acres of property have been transferred to the state for economic development projects. In 2015, EPA Region 10 presented the Howard Orlean Excellence in Site Reuse award to Mike and Brenda Schlepp in recognition of their care and commitment to their land. The Schlepps worked with EPA and several other site stakeholders to convert 400 acres of agricultural land in Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Basin and on part of the site into healthy wetland habitat. This ecological restoration effort provides habitat for tundra swans and other waterfowl to use as a migratory stopover. As of 2020, workers have cleaned up over 700 residential and commercial properties and completed a program to pave nearly 600 road segments in community areas. In 2018 and 2019, EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program (SRP) worked with Region 10, IDEQ and area communities on a reuse planning project for the site. The project evaluated reuse opportunities and planned for future redevelopment of targeted areas. SRP then developed an areawide reuse framework for priority parcels. The framework provides IDEQ and local stakeholders with a coordinated reuse strategy for undeveloped parcels and identifies near- and long-term opportunities for productive use that are compatible with the site’s remedy.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA had data on 222 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 2,305 people and generated an estimated $236,757,088 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
For more information:
- Recreational and Ecological Use at Superfund Sites Story Map
- Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex, Kellogg, ID - Reuse Framework (PDF)
- Reuse and the Benefit to Community: Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (PDF)
- Site Redevelopment Profile: Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (PDF)
- Reuse Fact Sheet: Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (PDF)
- EPA Region 10 Howard Orlean Excellence in Site Reuse Award
- Superfund Site Profile Page
- Video: Coeur d'Alene Basin: Partnering with Community for a Successful Cleanup
- Video: Cleanup Partnerships, Greener Hillsides in Kellogg, Idaho
Conda Mine
The Conda Mine site is near Soda Springs in Caribou County, Idaho. It is one of the oldest and largest mines in eastern Idaho. It produced phosphate ore from 1906 to 1984. Mining operations involved the excavation, handling, and on-site disposal of overburden rock containing trace amounts of selenium. The overburden disposal and reclamation practices at the site contaminated soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater with selenium and other trace metals. The site’s remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) began in 2008, evaluating the nature and extent of contamination and exploring cleanup options for the site. Cleanup actions to date include excavating and stabilizing a steep-sided overburden pile, re-contouring and designing precipitation-runoff controls to limit erosion and infiltration and putting a vegetated cover in place for stability and to reduce erosion. The RI finished in 2016. FS work is ongoing. Groundwater monitoring is also ongoing. Most of the site is not in use. The southeastern corner of the site is part of Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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Eastern Michaud Flats Contamination
The 2,530-acre Eastern Michaud Flats Contamination Superfund site is near Pocatello, Idaho. In the 1940s, two phosphate ore processing facilities, the FMC Corporation (FMC) and the J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) facilities, began operating at the site. The FMC plant produced phosphorus for use in a variety of products, from cleaning compounds to foods. The FMC plant shut down in December 2001. Simplot’s facility remains active on site. It produces solid and liquid fertilizers. Operations at both plants resulted in groundwater and soil contamination. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in August 1990. EPA selected a remedy for the site in 1998. EPA selected more interim remedies for the FMC and Simplot parts of the site in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Cleanup activities include capping contaminated soils, extracting, treating or reusing contaminated groundwater, and groundwater monitoring. In 2010, EPA issued a Ready for Reuse Determination stating that 87 acres on the FMC part of the site can support commercial and industrial development. In 2015, FMC requested EPA approval to include construction of a fertilizer distribution facility during the interim soil remedial action. EPA approved the changes to the interim soil remedial design and remedial action work plan in 2016. Valley Agronomics, a fertilizer distribution business, began operating in their new facility on site in 2017.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA had data on 3 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 96 people and generated an estimated $18,144,887 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
For more information:
- Ready for Reuse (RfR) Determination: Eastern Michaud Flats, FMC Plant Operable Unit
- Superfund Site Profile Page
Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. (Soda Springs Plant)
The 158-acre Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. (Soda Springs Plant) Superfund site is a mile north of Soda Springs, Idaho. From 1963 to 1999, a vanadium production plant was on site. Operators stored liquid industrial wastes from the plant in ponds on site. The ponds leaked chemicals into surface water and groundwater. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. Kerr-McGee landfilled pond sediment and capped tailings in place. Other cleanup has included waste disposal, waste excavation, construction of a waste repository and the demolition of site buildings. In 2006, Kerr-McGee reincorporated as Tronox, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2009. The Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust LLC now owns and maintains the site. Groundwater monitoring is ongoing. EPA is planning future cleanup actions and released the Proposed Plan in March 2023. Agricultural fields are on part of the site. The Trust is responsible for positioning the ±547-acre property for safe, beneficial reuse. The transfer, sale or disposition of all or any portion of the Site must be approved by EPA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Justice, and IDEQ, as provided in the Tronox bankruptcy settlement documents that govern the Trust and its activities. Currently, approximately 278 acres of the Site are leased for farming to a local resident, and three on-site buildings are leased to a local family for storage use. In order to help facilitate additional site redevelopment, the Multistate Trust is regularly in communication with the Soda Springs City Council and the Four County Alliance of Southeastern Idaho to help identify and evaluate prospective companies looking to site a business. Until the amended remedy is selected and implemented, some uncertainty remains about what specific areas of the site will require remediation infrastructure installed, operated, and maintained. Efforts to promote site redevelopment are anticipated to increase as the remedy selection is completed and the remedial design and construction steps progress.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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Monsanto Chemical Co. (Soda Springs Plant)
The 800-acre Monsanto Chemical Co. (Soda Springs Plant) Superfund site is outside Soda Springs, Idaho. It includes the 540-acre Monsanto plant as well as 260 acres of buffer area. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990 after sampling found contamination in groundwater and soils. EPA required that Monsanto place restrictions on the buffer area. In 1998, Monsanto put land use controls on the buffer area. Monsanto took actions to control harmful emissions from contaminated material on site. It is looking at other materials as potential sources of contamination. In a 2018 review, groundwater monitoring found that natural cleanup of some contaminants may not be occurring. It also found that the area of groundwater contamination is larger than originally defined. In response, a supplemental remedial investigation, including pilot testing for groundwater treatment, is underway. EPA will select new groundwater cleanup actions based on the investigation’s findings. Monsanto continues to operate its facility on site, producing refined phosphorus. Several farmers also own parts of the site. Bayer CropScience LP acquired Monsanto in 2018 and is still active on site. Part of the site’s buffer area is in continued agricultural use.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA had data on 2 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 401 people and generated an estimated $22,799,141 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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Pacific Hide & Fur Recycling Co.
The 17-acre Pacific Hide & Fur Recycling Co. Superfund site is in Pocatello, Idaho. From 1950 to 1983, the McCarty family owned and operated gravel mining and metal salvaging businesses at the site. Metals from site activities seeped into the soil. In 1983, EPA found soil with high lead levels on site and in the surrounding area. EPA removed highly contaminated soils and added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984. Working with the owners, EPA led soil removal and treatment efforts. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1999. A steel manufacturing and recycling facility is active on site.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA had data on one on-site business. This business employed 21 people and generated an estimated $13,708,000 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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Union Pacific Railroad Co.
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. Superfund site, also known as the UPRR Sludge Pit site, is in Pocatello, Idaho. From 1961 to 1983, the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) dumped sludge from its wastewater treatment plant into a 1-acre unlined sludge pit. In 1983, EPA found that seepage from the sludge pit and a nearby railroad-tie-treating facility contributed to groundwater contamination. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984. UPRR led cleanup activities under an agreement with EPA. UPRR completed the cleanup in 1994. It included the removal and off-site disposal of sludge and soil. UPRR also pre-treated millions of gallons of groundwater before discharging it to the city’s water treatment plant. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1997. The site is part of a larger business area that includes industrial and commercial buildings used for manufacturing, milling, shipping and retail sales. An active railroad line extends across the site.
Last updated December 2023
As of December 2023, EPA had data on 26 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 287 people and generated an estimated $121,995,910 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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