Gray's Meadow Project nears completion
An aerial photo of the Gray's Meadow agriculture-to-wetland conversion project. Almost 400,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed and used to construct the surrounding embankments. The wetland will be a healthy wetlands that will act as a feeding habitat for several different species of waterfowl.
Courtesy photo
MEDIMONT –– Major progress was made on the Gray’s Meadow agriculture-to-wetland conversion project in 2023, according to a recent release from the EPA.
The project cleared several hurdles in 2021 and 2022, as several infrastructure upgrades were made to the region, but 2023 was all about getting the contaminated soil out of the wetland area.
Work couldn’t begin until mid-May, as crews had to wait for the site to get as dry as possible before they went in with heavy equipment and removed the contaminated soil – and reportedly, as of October, the construction crews had excavated approximately 375,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil.
One of the more unique components of this project was the way that the contaminated soil was utilized as part of the project. Instead of hauling it miles away to a repository, it was used to build almost four miles of embankment, as well as habitat features that will help support a brand-new wetland area. The dirty soil was used to build up the embankment and features before being covered and capped with 12 inches of clean soil.
“The Gray’s Meadow Project is very important to the EPA,” EPA project manager Kim Prestbo previously told the News-Press. “For the EPA it represents our strategy in protecting waterfowl and wildlife in the Lower Basin. We have many wetlands that have been contaminated over time. By cleaning up some of these wetlands and selecting former agricultural fields and converting them into wetlands, it allows us to create clean feeding habitats and functioning wetlands for waterfowl. And we can do this at the same time as we’re working on source control in the river channels.”
The previous upgrades to the area included moving the Lamb Peak Field discharge pump from its current location at Black Lake to the Coeur d’Alene River, as well as upgrading and improving an access road and bridge that runs along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes between the Lamb Peak Fields and Cave Lake Field.
According to the EPA, Two water control structures are currently under construction in the Cave Lake Wetland, which will be used to control water flow and depth.
Work is expected to resume in 2024, but the EPA anticipates that the project will be completed by the end of the 2024 construction season.