Corps of Engineers to upgrade Central Treatment Plant

SEATTLE — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a Notice to Proceed on Feb. 2, 2017 for a contract to upgrade and expand the currently operating Central Treatment Plant (CTP) at the Bunker Hill Superfund site near Kellogg, Idaho. A Notice to Proceed is the government’s formal authorization to the contractor to begin work on the project. The work is part of a required remedial action under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s larger efforts to clean up toxic contamination in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin.

AMEC Foster Wheeler Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc., of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, was awarded the $48,409,058 design-build contract that will upgrade and expand the currently operating CTP and support facilities (such as the sludge pond) and install a new groundwater collection system to extract and convey contaminated groundwater for treatment at the upgraded CTP. The contract will also provide on-going operation and maintenance of the facility throughout design, construction, commissioning and one year after. Under an agreement between EPA and the State of Idaho, the State will assume responsibility for the CTP one year after upgrades are complete.

“This is a big step forward, for both the community and the environment,” said Sheryl Bilbrey, director of EPA’s Superfund cleanup office in Seattle. “When finished, the groundwater collection system and upgraded treatment plant will reduce the single highest source of dissolved zinc pollution to the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River by up to 90 percent. For the City of Kellogg and neighboring Silver Valley communities, we believe this contract will also create local jobs and give the economy a real economic boost.”

This project will allow the CTP to continue treating current water inflows and to meet new effluent discharge requirements. It will also prevent contaminated groundwater from migrating from the site and into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. The work is part of a required remedial action under the Operable Unit 2 (OU2) Record of Decision including relevant amendments and the 2012 Upper Basin Record of Decision Amendment for the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Site. The entire project is expected to take about four years.

Kellogg mayor Mac Pooler says that upgrade will be an economic boost to the area and is a step in the right direction to solving the metals problem in the Silver Valley.

“I think its definitely a plus,” said Pooler, “we are looking forward to working with the contractors who come into the area.”

The existing public access trail that skirts the northern edge of the Slag Pile Area and Central Impoundment Area between Bunker Avenue and Government Gulch Road will be closed for the duration of the project to include the one-year O&M period. Increased traffic on nearby streets can be expected during construction and will be advised by the contractor’s Traffic Control Plan.

The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site — also known as the Coeur d’Alene Basin cleanup — is located primarily in northern Idaho. It was first added to EPA’s National Priorities List of contaminated sites in 1983. At the EPA’s request, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supports the EPA in managing design and construction of specific projects in the Coeur d’Alene basin.