Paving at boat launch to begin next week

CATALDO — Next week, crews from the Coeur d’Alene Work Trust will begin the second phase of a clean-up project near the Cataldo Boat Launch.

Under the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the first phase of the project work was completed in June — where crews remediated a large section of a field that gets used primarily for parking while people play on the water.

The second phase will see new asphalt being laid down in the parking and driving areas near the boat launch.

During the first phase of the relatively small project, the emphasis was on the parking area due to the large amount of traffic — both human and automobile — that happens at that location.

“It gets such heavy use from the public,” said EPA Project Manager Bonnie Arthur. “The increase in visitors to the area has just gone nuts the last couple of years.”

Test results had previously shown alarmingly high levels of lead that are five times higher than other areas where similar clean-up efforts have been completed.

Some of the area had a large layer of contaminated top soils removed and subsequently filled back in with clean soil and capped with gravel for parking, while other areas have been fenced off to allow grass to grow — using a seed variant that the EPA crews have seen success with in other parts of the Bunker Hill Superfund Complex.

With more people coming into the region annually to recreate during the summer months, the potential for exposure has grown exponentially as availability to river-front access has grown sparse.

Arthur also explained that many of the cases of elevated blood-lead levels stem from folks getting out and recreating — oftentimes in places that haven’t been cleaned up.

“We’re doing what we can to either remove, or make sure that there is a cap between the families and this contaminated soil,” Arthur said. “We’re also adding new signage, following along with our ‘Play Clean’ campaign. If you can, avoid the sediments and sand near the river. But if you’re in the sand, make sure you wash your hands and clean your clothes before you come back into the house.”

The plan is for the paving to begin next week after Labor Day, after the boat launch’s busy season wraps up.

The Cataldo Boat Launch lies squarely within the Bunker Hill Superfund Site, and according to historic records, a suction dredge operated near the boat launch that dredged nearly 35 million tons of material from the bottom of the Coeur d’Alene River that were then deposited into a tailings pond that covered roughly 2,000 acres.

The dredge operated for nearly 40 years, from 1930 to 1968.