EPA Invites Your Proposals for JPjlot Projects' in Lower Basin United States Environmental Protection Agency Publi< Forums: Marth 20, 2013 Proposal Duo Date: April 19, 2013 Site Update Coeur d'Alene Basin Cleanup Project March 2013 You are invited to submit a proposal for a "pilot project" in the Lower Basin of the Coeur d'Alene River. Pilot projects are smaller-scale cleanup "tests" — cleanup actions that help evaluate the effectiveness of more complete, larger-scale cleanup actions that may be taken in the future. EPA is starting to consider project options, and is seeking suggestions from the public and stakeholder agencies. Your suggestions may include recommendations on details of projects, such as the locations, methods, timing, or partnerships. Suggestions could also include recommendations for a specific project or specific type of project. EPA plans to carry out at least one project beginning in 2014. Submit your project suggestions and proposals to EPA by April 19,2013. Proposal forms will be available soon. Learn more at a March 20 public forum. Two sessions will be held with the same information. At the forums, you will have the chance to learn more about this pilot project effort, get details to help you submit a proposal, and have your questions answered. Background Public Forums Wednesday, Marth 20 ® 2 - 4 p.m. S Rose Lake Community Center Highway 3 Rose Lake, ID 83810 Hosted by the Lower Basin Project Focus Team OR #6-8 p.m. © Medimont Grange (next to Valley Mart) 31146 S. Highway 3 Medimont, ID 83842 Hosted by the Citizens Coordinating Council EPA is studying options to reduce risks to people and wildlife. The risks are caused by lead and other heavy metals washed downstream from past mining practices in the Upper Basin. Long-term cleanup in the Upper Basin is already under way. Most of the lakes, wetlands and floodplain in the Lower Basin are contaminated. The bed of the Coeur dAlene River contains the largest volume, and most highly contaminated and mobile sediment. This material is eroded and then carried throughout the Lower Basin by floodwaters every year. The cost and complexity of cleanup is high. No single solution is likely to achieve cleanup goals. EPA's Cleanup Goals Selected pilot projects and larger efforts must help achieve EPA's cleanup goals for the Lower Basin Goals are to: • Reduce exposure of people, especially young children, to heavy metal contaminants. • Return rivers to conditions that fully sup- port healthy fish and other aquatic life, with an emphasis on native species, including sensitive native fish such as the westslope cutthroat trout and the threatened species bull trout. • Return the wetland, lake, riparian, riverine, and upland areas to conditions that protect wa- terfowl, migratory birds, and other plants and animals that live in these areas. ------- EPA Invites Your Proposals for 'Pilot Projects' in Lower Basin Preliminary List of Pilot Projects Being Considered by EPA Pilot projects are a way to try promising solutions so that larger efforts can be more successful. EPA is trying to achieve several objectives with pilot projects. These include short-term and long-term benefits, cost-effectiveness and the ability to produce measureable change. EPA's 2002 Record of Decision identified several pilot-scale actions for the Lower Basin. Ongoing studies have identified new or revised options, as well. Examples of possible pilot projects for the Lower Basin are listed to the right Beach replacement to reduce direct contact by people at select areas. Controls to keep waterfowl away from the most contaminated areas and encourage them to feed at the least contaminated areas. Engineering controls to limit floodwaters and contaminated sediment entering lakes and wetlands. Engineering controls to limit migration of contaminated sediment along the river bed. River bank stabilization to reduce direct contact and releases of contamination into the river. Pilot Project ideas will be evaluated using the following criteria: Must reduce exposure to or control source of contaminated sediments. Must be cost effective and within budget constraints. Must not exceed the capabilities of existing Basin disposal facilities to accommodate any waste soils. Must show measurable performance results within about 5 years or less. Must be implementable (i.e., will the land owner grant access, can it be done within 2 years, etc.) Lend itself well to potential for application of actions to larger areas. Avoid negative impacts to environment/site if test is unsuccessful. Have potential for partnership with other agencies and private landowners. Have low risk of recontamination unless that is a driver for informing. Be informed by and/or inform data collection and modeling. Can be implemented with the existing decision document for the Basin. Your Ideas and Input are Requested Your ideas, suggestions and recommendations are encouraged, to allow EPA to consider the broadest range of possible projects that meet the project criteria and objectives. We welcome ideas for new projects, or suggestions for improvements to EPA's preliminary list of projects. Please use a proposal form to submit your input. Proposal forms with instructions will be online soon : yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/sites/cda Proposal forms will also be available at the March 20 forums. Proposal forms are due by April 19. EPA will consider all suggestions relative to overall project objectives. Final pilot project selections will be determined by EPA. On July 1, EPA will release a summary of the pilot project ideas submitted and those that were selected. No detailed response to pilot project submittals will be prepared. Designs of selected projects will be made available for information purposes but comments will not be sought from the public. Project implementation updates will be provided at Lower Basin Project Focus Team meetings, in EPA's Basin Bulletin, on EPA's and the Basin Commission's websites, and on the Coeur d'Alene Basin Facebook Page. 2 ------- EPA Invites Your Proposals for Pilot Projects' in Lower Basin For More Information... Ed Moreen, EPA Project Manager 8 208-664-4588 moreen.ed@epa.gov Kim Prestbo, EPA Project Manager W 206-553-0239 prestbo.kim@epa.gov North Idaho College Library Molstead Library 1000 Garden Avenue Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 208-769-3355 Wallace Public Library 415 River Street Wallace, ID 83873 208-752-4571 Spokane Public Library 906 West Main Avenue Spokane, WA 99201 509-444-5336 Website: ""ft yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ CLEANUP.NSF/ sites/cda Facebook: www.facebook.com/CDAbasin Documents: EPA Field Office 1910 Northwest Boulevard, Suite 208 Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 208-664-4588 EPA Seattle Office Superfund Record Center 1200 Sixth Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 206-553-4494 or 800-424-4372 St. Maries Library 822 W. College Avenue St. Maries, ID 83861 208-245-3732 EPA provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the public forums, such as requiring information in a certain format (Braille, large print), please notify Andrea Lindsay at 1-800-424-4372, ext. 1896, or by email at Lindsay. Andrea@epa.gov Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Mi TTY users may call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8839 and give the operator Andrea s phone number. ------- &EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, ETPA-G81 Seattle, Washington 98101-3140 March 2013 Pre-Sorted Standard Postage and Fees Paid U.S. EPA Permit No.G-35 Seattle, WA EPA Invites Your Proposals for 'Pilot Projects' in Lower Basin Public Forums: March 20, 2013 Proposal Due Date: April 19, 2013 Read inside for details ------- |