THE DIRT: Another Canyon Creek cleanup season comes to a close

Another season of cleanup work is coming to a close in the Bunker Hill Superfund Site, and few areas have seen as much activity in recent years as Canyon Creek near Wallace. Work in the Upper Basin of Operable Unit 03 is conducted by the Coeur d’Alene Trust with oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency and in partnership with Idaho DEQ. As the weather turns colder and winter approaches, crews are wrapping up construction, removing equipment and preparing sites for the winter months. It is also a time to look back at what has been accomplished. 

If you have traveled through the Burke area over the past four years, you have likely noticed significant changes. This year marks an important milestone: cleanup at the Hecla Star Mine Complex will be complete, along with cleanup at the Tamarack No. 7 and Flynn Mine/Black Bear Fraction.  

The Hecla Star Mine Complex covers approximately 22 acres and includes numerous historic mines, mills and waste rock dumps. The cleanup design was completed in 2022, and active cleanup began in 2023. By the end of this year, crews will have removed approximately 136,000 cubic yards of mine waste, remediated and reconstructed 2,600 feet of stream, and revegetated approximately 11.9 acres. The work has involved more than simply removing contaminated material. A large culvert was installed beneath the road to accommodate a 100-year flood event and improve the long-term stability of the area. As construction wraps up this year, portions of the road that were removed and reconstructed will receive a fresh layer of asphalt, and the traffic controls that have become familiar to travelers through the area will be removed. 

Just downstream of the Star/Burke area, cleanup at the Tamarack No. 7 site will also be completed this year. Cleanup began in 2025, and over the past two years crews have removed approximately 151,800 cubic yards of waste, reconstructed 3,090 feet of stream, and will have revegetated more than 19 acres by the end of the year.  

Nearby, work at the Flynn Mine/Black Bear Fraction site will also wrap up. Although this site required a smaller cleanup effort, crews removed approximately 4,500 cubic yards of waste and revegetated approximately 9 acres during this year's work. No stream reconstruction was necessary at this location. 

Together, these three projects represent a significant amount of work in Canyon Creek. By the time they are complete, approximately 292,300 cubic yards of mine waste will have been removed and disposed of at the Canyon Complex Repository, equivalent to enough material to fill about 90 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This work also resulted in over a mile of clean stream habitat reconstructed within Canyon Creek.  

While construction may be ending at these sites, the work doesn't stop when the equipment leaves. Completed cleanup areas continue to be monitored and maintained to ensure that the remedies remain effective over the long term. 

Clean-up will continue in Canyon Creek as work moves downstream, addressing priority sites to reduce risk to people living or recreating here and reduce metals loading to the creek and Coeur d’Alene River.  Construction will move in general from the top to the bottom of Canyon Creek, with work planned through 2032 currently.  In the meantime, we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we work our way to a cleaner tomorrow.

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The Dirt is a series of informative articles focused on all aspects of cleanup efforts associated with the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. Our goal is to promote community awareness of contamination issues, to provide tools for protecting public health, and to keep the community informed of current and future cleanup projects. The Dirt is a group of committed and local experts from multiple agencies, including the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Panhandle Health District, Shoshone County, Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.