Town hall meeting on EPA cleanup set for Wednesday

WALLACE — With a finalized Record of Decision (ROD) amendment near at hand, the mayors of the Silver Valley have scheduled a town hall meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency’s cleanup plan for the Upper Basin of the Coeur d’Alene River.

The meeting is set from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Wallace Jr./Sr. High School gymnasium (1 Miners Alley).

The public is invited to attend. Comments and concerns will be submitted to the EPA as part of the agency’s public comment period, according to a letter written by Wallace Mayor Dr. Dick Vester.

In August the comment period was extended until Nov. 23.

“It is important for the residents of the Silver Valley and nearby areas to publicly share their views about this proposed cleanup plan,” Vester wrote on behalf of the mayors.

Residents are encouraged to speak up and share their concerns.

The proposed ROD amendment will govern cleanup activities in the Silver Valley and other areas of the Coeur d’Alene River Upper Basin, a region that has been extensively mined over the past century. EPA cleanup work, including residential yard remediation, has been ongoing in the Silver Valley for many years.

If implemented, the agency’s plan will cost approximately $1.3 billion, and the cleanup will continue for another 50 to 90 years. The long-term plan includes 14 community drainage projects, removal of mine tailings along creeks, and the evacuation of dangerous cap mining and mill sites.

The mayors of Wallace, Kellogg, Mullan, Osburn, Pinehurst, Smelterville and Wardner will be in attendance Wednesday. They have extended invitations to EPA officials, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Governor Butch Otter, members of the Idaho Congressional Delegation and locally-elected leaders from the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

For more information or to sign up in advance to speak, call (208) 752-1880.