IDEQ takes reins on CTP

KELLOGG — The state of Idaho officially took possession of the Central Treatment Plant in Kellogg.

The CTP has been under the purview of the Wood Environmental and Infrastructure Services, the company who built and has operated the facility under a contract where it was required to operate the facility for one full year following the completion of the project.

Although upgraded, the CTP has been in operation for some 50 years as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led a multi-agency effort to clean up mine pollution in the Coeur d’Alene Basin region.

The new plant removes zinc and other metal compounds by chemically precipitating them in a sludge that will be disposed in an engineered impoundment area expected to last at least 30 years.

The state’s ownership will be handled under the guidance of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Regional Administrator Dan McCracken.

One of the main functions of the CTP is to reduce the volume of heavy metals from the water that pours from the nearby Bunker Hill Mine before it flows into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River.

Over the past few years has also installed a groundwater collection system that runs alongside I-90 and pumps contaminated water back to the CTP for treatment before discharging it into the river.

The former CTP facility wasn’t built to handle the volume whereas the new system, although larger, will work more efficiently and allow for more water to be treated than before.

“There has been a tremendous amount of hard work to get to this point,” McCracken said. “The number of people involved in successfully completing a project of this magnitude is truly impressive. I’m especially proud of the work done by our staff at DEQ to have the state of Idaho well-prepared to take on this responsibility.”

In a press release on Thursday, Calvin Terada, director of EPA’s Superfund Cleanup office in Seattle, mentioned how the project has a two-fold benefit for the valley.

“This is a day to celebrate,” EPA’s Terada said. “The rebuilt plant benefits the local community in two important ways: First, by providing much better treatment of acid mine drainage from the Bunker Hill Mine. And second, by using a state-of-the-art system to intercept, collect and treat the area’s contaminated groundwater before it enters the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River.”

The Army Corps of Engineers has been heavily involved in much of the development of the upgraded CTP, as well as the development of the groundwater collection system.

Rod Zion, Senior Project Engineer for the ACOE welcomes the project resolution and management transition to the state of Idaho.

“The work that we’ve accomplished here represents the culmination of a lot of collaborative effort between the Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, the state of Idaho and Wood Environmental,” Zion said. “The project is a large investment of cleanup work in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin, and it’s been an honor to help improve the environment and the lives of people living here.”

Originally constructed in the early '70s, the CTP was owned and operated by the Bunker Hill Corporation.

The former CTP was only capable of handling 2,500 gallons of water per minute, but the new facility is designed to handle up to four times that amount.

“Our new plant should significantly improve water quality in the South Fork,” McCracken said. “We’re ready to take the baton now and do our part to operate the facility and improve river conditions.”