Basin Commision MeetingNovember 20, 2013

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

EPA and DEQ TeamRepresented by Bill Adams

Summary of 2013 Work Property remediation – 130 Properties Paved roads in Box and Basin - 8 Miles Remedy protection & unpaved roads Repositories

Lower Burke Canyon – 60% design complete Ninemile WCA – ready for Interstate Waste in 2014

CTP and CIA design work at 30% Lower Basin pilot projects – Selected two

projects working on design of one. Basin Environmental Monitoring Plan (BEMP)

Property Remediation

130 properties completed PHD Lead Health

Intervention Program outreach

Over 360 children participated in testing this year (92 in Basin and 276

A total of 15 of those children had blood-lead levels above 5 µg/dl.

Commercial Property Remediation by the Trust

Property Remediation - 2 Parcels

Shoshone county yard – Osburn (approx. 490,00 sq ft) – Out to Bid will start soon

US Silver parking lot – Silverton (approx. 130,00 sq ft)

Work being conducted by Ferguson Construction

Paved Roads Program

Pinehurst

Smelterville

Mullan

Ninemile Cemetery Unpaved Road Project

2013 REMEDY PROTECTION CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Grouse Creek in Smelterville Sierra Nevada in Wardner completed Little Pine Creek in Pinehurst 2014 Third Street Area in Mullan Dewey Street Area in Mullan Unnamed Creek in Silverton Shields Gulch in Osburn 2014 (some work

started in 2013) 

Remedy Protection Projects Completed!

Grouse Creek

Sierra Nevada Wardner

3rd St. in Mullan Remedy Protection Project

Repositories

Lower Burke Canyon Design WCA under construction Big Creek and EMF in operation

Lower Burke Canyon Repository

LBCR Schedule Open House to present the 30% design – June 4th

Wallace Few comments on design – response distributed on

July 25th

Evaluating several alternatives based on comments and waste volume needs

60% Basis of Design – August 2013 90% Basis of Design – November 2013 Ongoing groundwater monitoring – throughout 2013 Construction planned for 2014

LBCR Conceptual View from Woodland Park

Other Repository Alternatives

Expand LBCR to the West Expand LBCR to the East toward creek

and south Evaluate removal and replacement of

SVNRT with increased capacity Evaluate potential expansion near Big

Creek Repository – Site characterization started in Nov 2013.

Potential Big Creek Expansion

East Fork of Ninemile Most impacted tributary in the Upper Basin- 64 times

Water Quality Standards, up to 480 lbs per day of Zinc below Success and High particulate lead to South Fork 

In RODA capping for many sites and was changed to Excavation/local WCA

Why Interstate First High in Watershed – Top Down Approach Waste totally fills stream valley Particulate loader Close to WCA Good opportunity for restoration

EFNM Waste Consolidation Area Design for 1.3M cy of mine waste for all of

Ninemile Basin Potential expansion for 2.0M cy Phased development Initial development in 2013 allows for placement

of mine waste from I-C Rock Dumps in 2014 WCA development has provided soil, woody

material, and rock for construction of WCA, infrastructure, and reconstruction/restoration of remedial sites

WCA

BEMP Update

EPA is planning to conduct an optimization of GW monitoring on OU2 and all other BEMP data

FWS collecting pre-RA data in EFNM and Canyon Creek

Ongoing evaluation of all data for lessons learned, trends, opportunities to streamline data collection

Lower Basin Pilot Projects

Pilot Projects Selected and moving forward!

With lots of help from locals – 46 ideas received from 24 individuals/entities

Focusing on 2 projects at this time A combined Riverbank and Beach

Remediation Kahnderosa Campground Water Level Management Using Hydraulic

Controls at location TBD

Riverbank & Beach Remediation at Kahnderosa Campground

Objectives: Reduce potential exposure

to people from contaminated material in banks and beaches

Isolate contaminated material beneath clean and stable soil

Support recreational use & ecological habitat

Measure recontamination Measure and document

stability

Water Level Management

Objectives Use clean tributary flows to maintain higher

water levels Deter Waterfowl Use During Migration Season Reduce contamination deposition during high

flows Monitor Waterfowl Usage and Feeding

Patterns, Water Levels, Sediment Deposition Rates and Related Factors

Pilot Projects – Next Steps

EPA working with landowners and eco resource folks will select and commence planning for the pilot projects

Construction for both is planned for 2014 Will Post Update to the EPA Website on

These Projects

Lower Basin Sampling

Focused Data Gathering to Better Define the Sub-bottom

Focused Coring in the Floodplain to Update Depositional Rates/Concentrations

CTP Upgrades and CIA Groundwater Collection

Design Concept Optimization and Modeling

Reduce contaminant loading to surface water Minimize infiltration of surface water into the

GCS Minimize overall groundwater collection flow

rates Minimize O&M requirements (system

maintenance and fouling) Maximize hydraulic isolation of the CIA and

extent of hydraulic capture Maximize system flexibility

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Extraction Well/Cutoff Wall

8,800-foot-long cutoff wall Series of 10 extraction wells Flow rate is more prescribed by wells at

~2,000 gpm Flow from SFCDR and lower confining

layer isolated from wells by cutoff wall

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Remedy Effectiveness

No-action dissolved zinc loading to SFCDR estimated to be ~540 lb/day Zinc loading under eastern OU 2 ~ 450 lb/day Zinc loading moving through groundwater

system toward Smelterville Flats ~ 90 lb/day Estimated effectiveness 65-90% reduction

Range depends on concentration entering SFCDR after installation of slurry wall.

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Budget Update Current Special Account Balance ~ $52

million w/out Hecla’s last payments Trust Balance ~ $504M (end of 3rd quarter)

up $22M in last quarter. HQ funding this year $2M

Planned Trust Budget for 2014

Approximate Trust Budget - ~ $21 million Remedy Protection in Box and Basin WCA and Interstate construction Pre-design data collection - Ninemile Property Remediation construction Roads construction ($3.5M in Basin) Lower Basin Pilots construction Repository Operations LBCR construction

Planned Special Account Project Work for 2014 – Budget TBD

Ongoing Property Remediation Remedy Protection in Box Paved Roads Program in Box ($3.5M) Lower Basin data collection/modeling Oversight , Admin, and Supporting Activities BEMP CTP and CIA design completion

Summary of Hecla Settlement Funds (from 8/12 presentation)

FY2011 FY2012 FY2013 FY2014 Total

EPA 45,474,000 34,145,000 26,600,000 7,700,000 113,962,000

Registry 66M

NRRT 55,322,000 11,382,000 8,882,000 2,566,000 78,151,000

Idaho Tribe

5,138,000

Total 176,790,000 45,527,000 35,527,000 10,263,000 268,107,000

Total does not include certain Superfund Interest payments - .69% to .74%. Numbers are rounded.

Status of Hecla Funds Amount of Settlement ~ $180M Amount received to date ~$138M ($66M +

$72M) Amount in Court Registry ~$66M Amount in Special Account $52M Due in 2014 balance up to $42M

Work completed to date from SA (includes other settlment funds)

Property Remediation Technical Support and RD Support Agency Agreements Paved Roads in Box

Special Account Funding Challenges

Total Funds Available = $52M + $42M Key project commitments in Box that can’t

be funded by Trust = $67M Completion of CTP and GW Collection over 3

years -$36M (placed on contract in Jan 2015) Remedy Protection - $4M Roads - $27M over 6 years

Balance of $27M for other site needs

Misc Updates

Community Fill Plan Implementation Plan Update – advertized

via email, Basin Bulletin, facebook, placed in library – 30 day informal review

Thank You