Superfund Straight Talk March 1, 2013

Answering Community Questions about the  Bunkerhill Superfund Site

DEQ and EPA held a workshop in February to discuss paved road funding with road management jurisdictions in Shoshone and Kootenai counties. Some basic questions arose from people who want to know more.

Q: Why is there an effort to repair paved roads as part of the cleanup? Why now?

A: Paved road surfaces in good condition will provide a barrier to contaminated material lying underneath which helps protect human and environmental health, the aim of the EPA cleanup. An EPA/DEQ Paved Roadway Surface Remediation Strategy identified roads overlying contaminated materials, which laid the foundation for the strategy, and then money from recent cleanup agreements and settlements was set aside.

This is a great time to begin focusing on roads. Road repair has been a long-identified need raised by the community. Additionally, now that property remediation is nearly complete, addressing road surfaces is a natural next step.

Q: Why is money given to the road management jurisdiction? Why doesn’t the state or EPA do this work?

A: Local roads jurisdictions are better organized to plan, prioritize, and construct surface repairs of their roads. This arrangement also offers flexibility for jurisdictions to coordinate other funds for repairs that are not covered under the Paved Roadway Surface Remediation Strategy. Furthermore, jurisdictions will continue to be responsible for maintenance of their roadways.

Q: How do you ensure that the money is spent appropriately?

A: Jurisdictions will submit projects for review. An EPA and DEQ Roads Board is responsible for making sure that projects meet the requirements of the strategy and that projects are planned, designed, and constructed appropriately. The money must be used to improve only roadway surfaces and drainages on roads listed in the strategy.

Q: How long will it take to repair paved roads?

A: Depending on the jurisdictions’ priorities and planning, it might take 5-10 years.

A specific amount of money has been set aside for each road jurisdiction for particular contaminated roads. Communities do not have to compete with each other to get projects done. Furthermore, there is no definite time limit to spend the money, so communities have time to plan how best to use this funding.

I welcome your questions about the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Call Denna Grangaard at (208) 783-5781 or click on “Ask Us” by using the QR-Code for www.deq.idaho.gov/bunkerhillsuperfundsite.

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