The following is a list of work completed by the Water Resources Ground Water Program since its inception in fiscal year (FY) 2002. Work has been funded through American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA, 2 sites), responsible parties (6 sites), EPA’s LUST TRUST Program (8 sites), voluntary cleanups by property owners (9 sites), Targeted Brownfields Assessments by EPA (2 sites) and Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team Contracts (START) by EPA (1 Site).
The following is a list of sites that the Tribe worked on in FY 2020
Blue North Mill Site, Kamiah, ID – conducted Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) for Hazardous Building Materials of 17 remaining structures and received cost estimate for abatement.
Exploring options for no-cost demolition, following abatement, by reclaiming timbers in some of the old mill buildings.
Preparing for Phase II ESA of soil and groundwater contamination associated with residual petroleum products and a boiler system ash stock pile for early 2021.
Coordinating with Tribal Leadership, Tribal Enterprises, Office of Executive Direction, and Climate Change and Energy Subcommittees to develop redevelopment plans, timelines, and incorporate community involvement in analysis of brownfield cleanup alternatives.
Ft. Lapwai, Lapwai, ID – accepted in EPA’s Targeted Brownfield Assessment Program in 2019. In summer 2020, EPA contractors performed Phase II ESA activities on the former BIA/Indian Boarding School/Tuberculosis Hospital/Lapwai School District buildings for Hazardous Building Materials and provided a cost estimate for abatement.
Soil and groundwater samples were taken to identify any petroleum plume migration from the Lapwai School Bus Bar property.
Working with Office of Executive Direction and Tribal Leadership to identify funding sources to conduct hazardous material abatement before progress can move foward on reclaiming the property as a new Tribal Governance Center.
Former Clearwater/Potlatch lumber mill, Spalding, ID – Updated Phase I ESA, reviewing 2004 and 2012 Phase I ESA findings. In summer 2020, coordinated with Tribal Enterprises to conduct geophysical surveys using electromagnetics and ground penetrating radar to locate two abandoned Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) thought to be present on the site. No presence of the USTs were detected during the survey, however a underground utility vault (used to store large electric transformers) was found near the US-95 rigth-of-way.
The property is within the boundaries of the regional Grande Ronde Aquifer, an EPA-designated Sole Source Aquifer (SSA). Due to the threats to water quality and quantity within a SSA, we are advising Tribal Enterprises on redevelopement options and necessary protections required by EPA for development within the Grande Ronde SSA.
Proposed Waste Transfer Station, Kooskia, ID – In 2018, Simmons Sanitation proposed a new waste transfer station on private land, within the 1863 Reservation boundary, near the mouth of the South Fork Clearwater River. While the proposed site is behind the US Army Corps of Engineers-maintained leeve system, it is still within the 100-yr flood plain and is subject to frequent inundation of flood waters, particularly during spring high water flows. The waste transfer station would include recycling and househould hazardous waste options for the residents of Kooskia, a service that is currently not provided. The Nez Perce Brownfields Team has been working closely with IDEQ, who has regulatory authority over transfer station plans and operations, to ensure transparency and community member concens is honored through the permitting process.
Househould hazardous waste would only be stored temporaily at the transfer station in a “rolling-hazmat” truck, allowing for timely disposal at Simmons Kamiah landfill and elimnate the risk of household hazardous wastes being caught in flood waters.