Content - Public Health & the Basin

Our Living Lake fellows spent the afternoon in Kellogg Idaho with some of the people working to manage the long term impacts of mining in the Silver Valley.

The History of Lead with Mary RhenborgMary Rhenborg, Program Manager for Institutional Controls Program at Panhandle Health in Kellogg, Idaho opened the afternoon with the history of lead and the health concerns it has created in the region. Fellows learned about the lead from mining and smelting settling into yards, streets, riverbanks, and homes throughout the Silver Valley, where it remains a serious public health issue in the basin and the 1973 bag fire that resulted in the lead poisoning crisis of 1974.

Cleanup to Date with Sharon Bosley Sharon Bosley of the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission (BEIPC) walked the fellows through the cleanup work completed so far. The State of Idaho created the Basin Commission to coordinate cleanup, restoration, and public involvement across the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. It brings together the EPA Region 10, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Panhandle Health District, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and local governments.

What Comes Next with Kyle RichardsKyle Richards with CDA Trust then looked ahead to the upcoming work, explaining how a cleanup project moves from investigation to design to remediation. It was a valuable look at how much study and planning happens before any soil is moved.

Kyle looked ahead to the upcoming work and explained how a cleanup project moves from investigation to design to remediation. Cleanup decisions rely on risk assessments of how people, wildlife, and water come into contact with contaminants. Remedies focus on cutting off those exposure pathways, containing or removing the highest-risk contamination, and maintaining long-term protections through monitoring and education.

Inside the Central Treatment Plant with Keri St. JohnTo close the day, we traveled to the Central Treatment Plant for a tour with Keri St. John, Remediation Project Manager for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to see the plant in person.

The Central Treatment Plant cleans mine drainage and contaminated groundwater of toxic metal compounds and can clean up to 11.5 million gallons of water a day.