oEFA

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 10

September 1998

This fact sheet summarizes cleanup activities at the Bunker Hill Site during the 1998summer construction
season. We also wanted to let you know about an effort to revegetate area hillsides which will be taking
place in late September. It is hoped that soon native vegetation and wildlife will flourish on this reclaimed
land. After a decade of focused cleanup, the Bunker Hill Site is moving towards revival and growth, showing
how a concentrated cleanup effort can improve an area that had been heavily industrialized for more than
a century.

1998 Summer Cleanup Activities

The biggest construction season ever is wrapping up at the
Bunker Hill Superfund Site in northern Idaho. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, their construction manager
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Corps' contractor the
Morrison Knudsen Company of Boise, Idaho, completed an
ambitious cleanup schedule this summer. The State of Idaho's
contractor, Terragraphics, was also very involved, among many
other contractors and consultants.

With a fleet of 20 50-ton Haul-Pak trucks and two Komatsu 750
Excavators, running two 10-hour shifts four days each week,
contractors and local workers temporarily rerouted a river to
enable the excavation of contaminated mine tailings. They
finished a six-mile, heavy-duty haul road, removed and disposed
of 1.25 million cubic yards of contaminated soil, and capped and
closed a 32-acre mine waste and demolition debris landfill.

Summer of 1998

Funded by over $20 million in federal dollars this year, and the
State of Idaho's 10 percent matching funds, the Bunker Hill Site's
cleanup work this summer was directed by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, general contractor Morrison Knudsen, and their
subcontractor, Morrison Construction Services of Richland.
CH2M Hill did design work for EPA, and Spectrum Engineering
did so for the State of Idaho.

(Continued on page 2)

Helicopters to Assist Hillside
Revegetation Effort

Beginning on September 21, crews
working for Tri-State Hydroseeding,
Incorporated will be mobilizing
aircraft and hydroseeding
equipment to begin the task of
revegetating the hillsides near
Bunker Hill in Kellogg, Idaho. In
this first phase of a three-year
project, approximately 200 acres
will be revegetated using lime,
organic amendments, mulch,
native seed and tackifiers to hold
the materials to the hillsides.

Because many of the hillsides are
inaccessible by land based
equipment, a Sikorski sky crane
helicopter will be used to apply
some of the revegetation
materials. Work is slated to begin
during the week of September
21 st, and depending on weather
conditions, should be completed
no later than October 31 st. The
hillsides targeted for this year's
efforts are the east and west
slopes of Government Gulch and
the hillsides on the west side of
Deadwood Gulch.


-------
	

South Fork Coeur d'Alene River and Smeltervilie

Flats

Excavation of contaminated materials from
Smeltervilie Flats, an area along the South Fork
of the Coeur d'Alene River, is completed. By
September 14,1.25 million cubic yards had
been removed from the Flats. The design of
this removal project was the joint effort of
EPA's contractor, CH2M Hill, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, and Terragraphics, the State
of Idaho's Contractor.

Cleanup managers re-routed the South Fork of
the Coeur d'Alene River using small dams and
earth-moving equipment. This created a new
river course within the existing floodplain.

Using heavy equipment, workers are removing
and hauling approximately 25,000 to 30,000
cubic yards of tailings each week.

Contractors are bringing in clean fill to reshape
the river channel as the tailings are removed,
and topsoil to revegetate the Flats. They haul
the contaminated tailings six miles over a haul
road where they are permanently deposited in
the Central Impoundment Area (CIA), a historic
mine tailings pond at the Bunker Hill Site.

Cleanup managers foresee that this project will
improve fish habitats by creating more pools,
meanders and in-stream structure for shade, as
well as reduce further downstream damage
from contaminated sediments originating from
Smeltervilie Flats. Flats revegetation will be
completed next year.

Landfill Closure, Tailings Disposal, and Gulch
Cleanup

The contractors have also removed soils
contaminated with zinc, lead, cadmium, arsenic
and other heavy metals from several gulches
and ravines within the Bunker Hill Site. Bunker
Limited Partnership (BLP) has participated in the
cleanup of Burgin and Deadwood Gulches.

After workers cleared these areas of buildings
and contaminated soils, they brought in clean
materials and re-planted the areas.

	2	

Bunker Hill September 1998

The cleanup group has reconstructed about six
miles of creeks, complete with grade control
structures and check dams.

The capping and closure of a demolition debris
landfill at the site of the old lead smelter is also
nearing completion. It contains the remains of
more than 200 industrial structures demolished
in previous years, and is now capped off with
two layers of slag material for cushioning and
drainage, an HOPE (High Density Poly-
Ethyl ene) liner, a six-inch layer of topsoil, and
grass. This work will finish ahead of schedule
this fall.

Yard Cleanups

The State of Idaho is overseeing yard cleanups
in the residential areas of the site. State
officials report the Upstream Mining Group
(UMG) is on schedule to meet this year's goal of
200 yards. By the end of 1998, nearly 1,400
yards will have been cleaned up. So far, the
year-to-date total is 165.

NextSteps

The next step in the cleanup process is the
closure of the 260-acre Central Impoundment
Area (CIA) and installing a waterproof PVC
(polyvinyl chloride) cap to prevent any future
leaching, as well as slag and soil. The CIA has
been identified as the largest point source of
metals loading to the river. EPA plans to
advertise a contract for this project in January
1999.

Property Transfer Status

Under the Superfund Program, after cleanup is
complete with performance standards in place,
EPA will transfer this remediated property to
the State of Idaho for long term operations and
maintenance (O&M) activities. The State is
currently working on a plan that will describe
the specific O&M procedures that will be used,
and will work with the community on this
project over a period of several months.


-------
3

oEFA		

Health District Survey

The Panhandle Health District plans to release
the results of the 1998 blood lead level survey
at the October 29,1998 Task Force Meeting.
Citizen participation in the survey was higher
in 1998 than in 1997. Surveys have been
taking place for the past several years, and the
ongoing cleanup effort has helped decrease
the blood lead level.

Bunker Hill September 1998

The Future for Bunker Hill

Under an EPA Brownfields Grant, the
Panhandle Health District is working with the
Silver Valley Economic Development
Corporation and Shoshone County to assist
local citizens in planning possible
redevelopment projects. We hope the
Summer of 1998 will be remembered as a large
step forward for both the economy and the
environment.

Site History

The Bunker Hill Mining and metallurgical complex covers 21 square miles and encompasses the
communities of Kellogg, Smelterville, Wardner, Pinehurst, Page, Ross Ranch, Montgomery Gulch
and Elizabeth Park.

Mining activities began in the late 1800's in the Silver Valley. In 1917 smelter operations began
at the Bunker Hill Site. In 1968, Gulf Resources and Chemical Corporation (Gulf) purchased the
Bunker Hill facility. In 1973, a fire at the baghouse (a system of cloth bags that filtered lead-
contaminated dust from the smokestacks) all but destroyed the smelter's air pollution control
capacity. As a result of the fire, lead emissions from the smelter increased dramatically. Less
than a year after the fire, a sick child tested extremely high for lead contamination. Local
officials subsequently began testing other children in the valley and discovered that many had
very high levels of lead in their blood. As a result, the Panhandle Health District and the State of
Idaho developed a lead intervention program and a yearly blood screening program to monitor
area children.

Contamination includes tons of mine tailings that were directly deposited into the Coeur d'Alene
River, causing major contamination of heavy metals throughout the floodplain. Lead is the
primary contaminant in the valley. It causes brain and central nervous system damage, chronic
kidney and cardiovascular disorders, and impaired fetal development.

In 1983, Bunker Hill was added to the National Priorities List (NPL), a list of the nation's most
hazardous waste sites. EPA has identified 17 private companies believed to be responsible for
site cleanup, some of whom are working in partnership with EPA and the Idaho Division of
Environmental Quality (IDEQ) to support cleanup.

Site cleanup began with early public property/park cleanups in 1986 and yard cleanups in 1989.
The smelter complex cleanup project commenced in 1995.

Cleanup decisions are documented in two Records of Decision (RODs). In 1991, the Populated
ROD was signed, covering residential and commercial yard cleanup. In 1992, the Non-Populated
ROD was signed, documenting cleanup decisions for the rest of the Bunker Hill site.


-------
For More Information

For more information about the Bunker Hill site and access to all public documents related to the site,
you can visit the following information repositories:

Kellogg Public Library: 16 West Market, Kellogg, Idaho 83837

(The Kellogg Public Library holds the entire administrative record -- other local libraries have site

information, but do not contain all site files).

Pinehurst/Kingston Library: 107 Main Street, Pinehurst, Idaho 83850

EPA Region 10 Records Center: 1200 6th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101

EPA Toll Free number (1 -800-424-4372)

Please visit or call (208-783-5781) the Superfund Project Office located at 1005 McKinley Avenue in
Kellogg for information, as well.

Questions or Concerns?

Please call Jerry Cobb, Panhandle Health District in Kellogg at (208) 783-0707, Marianne Deppman, EPA
Community Relations Coordinator in Seattle, at 1-800-424-4372 or directly at (206) 553-1237, or Debra
Packard, EPA Community Relations Coordinator in Seattle, at 1-800-424-4372 or directly at (206) 553-
0247.

To ensure effective communication with everyone, additional services can be made by calling EPA's toll-free number at
1-800-424-4372.

Web Surfing for EPA Region 10: Check out our homepage at:
http://www.epa.gov/rl Dearth

SEF2V

United States	EPA Region 10

Environmental Protection	Community Relations and Outreach

Agency	1200 Sixth Avenue, ECO-C81

Seattle, Washington 98101-1128

SUPERFUND FM€J SHEET
Bunker Hill

Kellogg, Idaho


-------