Superfund Sites in Reuse in Idaho
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ARRCOM (DREXLER ENTERPRISES)
The 1-acre ARRCOM (Drexler Enterprises) Superfund site is about 3 miles southwest of Rathdrum, Idaho. From 1960 to 1982, ARRCOM ran a waste oil recycling facility on-site. ARRCOM abandoned the area in 1982. Operations and abandoned storage tanks contaminated soil and sludge. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1983. From 1983 to 1990, EPA cleaned up the area. Cleanup included removing contaminated soil, sludge and debris and taking it off-site for disposal. It also included monitoring groundwater. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1992. Today, a manufactured home and a general purpose, wood pole frame building are on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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BLACKBIRD MINE
The 10,830-acre Blackbird Mine is an inactive mine 25 miles west of the town of Salmon, Idaho. It is in the Salmon-Challis National Forest. From 1893 to 1982, several companies mined cobalt and copper on-site, both underground using tunnels and aboveground in open pits. These activities resulted in the contamination of soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater with heavy metals. EPA proposed adding the site to the National Priorities List in 1993. EPA has not finalized the site’s NPL listing. Since 1995, the Blackbird Mine Site Group has collected and treated contaminated water, stabilized waste rock piles, covered an impoundment, and removed contaminated soil and sediment. Land use controls were also part of the cleanup. Monitoring is ongoing. The Glencore and Rio Tinto mining companies continue to conduct reclamation activities at the mine. The site’s ecological resources include several creeks. Site uses include residential, agricultural (primarily pasture) and recreational (fishing, hunting, sightseeing, camping) areas.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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BUNKER HILL MINING & METALLURGICAL COMPLEX
The Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund site is in Idaho’s Silver Valley. The Silver Valley is one of the largest historical mining districts in the world. Mining operations began in the area in 1883. Mine tailings, waste rock, and smelter operations contaminated soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater with heavy metals such as lead. Tailings disposal in rivers and streams spread contaminants throughout the floodplain of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River. Tests found high blood lead levels in area children. In response, EPA added the 21-square-mile area around the old smelter to the National Priorities List in 1983. Cleanup and ecological restoration around the lead smelter included the removal of lead-contaminated soil from residential and commercial properties and common use areas, the containment of mine tailings, and the planting of two million trees over 2,290 hillside acres. The Panhandle Health District, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and EPA also developed a comprehensive Institutional Controls Program for the area. It provides safe, clear procedures for maintaining the protective barriers that allow for ongoing development in the Silver Valley. Cleanup plans in parts of the site outside the smelter area address the Upper and Lower Basin, the Spokane River in Washington and Lake Coeur d’Alene. The work includes limited repair of roads and streets in community areas, projects that prevent flooding and recontamination in community areas already cleaned up, continued property remediation, and source controls at mine sites. In 2024, cleanup of all significant Mine and Mill sites in the Ninemile watershed of the Upper Basin was completed. Cleanup and planning for other areas are underway. Lead levels in children have fallen to levels below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s current reference level. The Panhandle Health District, the Idaho DEQ and EPA continue to educate Silver Valley children about avoiding lead-contaminated areas and accidental lead ingestion, particularly for recreation areas. The site now hosts the Silver Mountain Resort, which includes a neighborhood, condominiums, commercial development, an indoor water park, a golf course and a ski area. Cleanup and the ICP facilitated more development across the Silver Valley, including retailers, housing, a dialysis center and the 72-mile recreational Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. More than 1,800 acres of property have been transferred to the state for economic development projects. The Schlepps worked with EPA and several other site stakeholders to convert 400 acres of agricultural land in Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Basin and part of the site into a healthy wetland habitat. This ecological restoration effort provides habitat for tundra swans and other waterfowl to use as a migratory stopover. As of 2025, workers have cleaned up over 7000 residential and commercial properties and completed a program to pave nearly 600 road segments in community areas. In 2018 and 2019, EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program (SRP) worked with Region 10, the Idaho DEQ and area communities on a reuse planning project for the site. It evaluated reuse opportunities and planned for future redevelopment of targeted areas. SRP then developed an areawide reuse framework for priority parcels. The framework provides the Idaho DEQ and local stakeholders with a coordinated reuse strategy for undeveloped parcels and identifies near- and long-term opportunities for productive use that are compatible with the site’s remedy. Other projects include field studies for recreational sites, converting contaminated agricultural land to healthy wetland habitat, and putting in barriers to prevent exposure to mine waste.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on 239 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 2,490 people and generated an estimated $261,139,149 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
For more information:
- Recreational and Ecological Use at Superfund Sites Story Map
- Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex, Kellogg, ID - Reuse Framework (PDF)
- Reuse and the Benefit to Community: Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (PDF)
- Site Redevelopment Profile: Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (PDF)
- Reuse Fact Sheet: Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site (PDF)
- EPA Region 10 Howard Orlean Excellence in Site Reuse Award
- Superfund Site Profile Page
- Video: Coeur d'Alene Basin: Partnering with Community for a Successful Cleanup
- Video: Cleanup Partnerships, Greener Hillsides in Kellogg, Idaho
CONDA MINE
The Conda Mine site is near Soda Springs in Caribou County, Idaho. It is one of the oldest and largest mines in eastern Idaho. It produced phosphate ore from 1906 to 1984. Mining operations involved the excavation, handling and on-site disposal of overburden rock containing trace amounts of selenium. The overburden disposal and reclamation practices contaminated soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater with selenium and other trace metals. The site’s remedial investigation and feasibility study evaluated the nature and extent of contamination and explored cleanup options. Cleanup actions to date include excavating and stabilizing a steep-sided overburden pile, recontouring and designing runoff controls to limit erosion and infiltration, and putting a vegetated cover in place for stability and to reduce erosion. In August 2022, EPA selected the final remedy for a portion of the site. It included the installation of permeable reactive barriers to address shallow contaminated groundwater. Cleanup is ongoing. Caribou-Targhee National Forest is partially on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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EASTERN MICHAUD FLATS CONTAMINATION
The 2,530-acre Eastern Michaud Flats Contamination Superfund site is near Pocatello, Idaho. In the 1940s, two phosphate ore processing facilities, the FMC Corporation and the J.R. Simplot Company facilities, began operating at the site. The FMC plant produced phosphorus for use in a variety of products, from cleaning compounds to foods. The FMC plant shut down in December 2001. Simplot’s facility remains active. It produces solid and liquid fertilizers. Operations at both plants resulted in groundwater and soil contamination. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in August 1990. EPA selected a remedy for the site in 1998. The agency selected more interim remedies for the FMC and Simplot parts of the site in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Cleanup activities include capping contaminated soils, extracting, treating and reusing contaminated groundwater, and monitoring groundwater. In 2010, EPA issued a Ready for Reuse Determination. It stated that 87 acres on the FMC part of the site can support commercial and industrial uses. In 2015, FMC requested EPA’s approval to include the construction of a fertilizer distribution facility during the interim soil remedial action. EPA approved the changes to the interim soil remedial design and remedial action work plan in 2016. Valley Agronomics, a fertilizer distribution business, opened its new facility on-site in 2017.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on 3 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 89 people and generated an estimated $13,083,181 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
For more information:
- Ready for Reuse (RfR) Determination: Eastern Michaud Flats, FMC Plant Operable Unit
- Superfund Site Profile Page
KERR-MCGEE CHEMICAL CORP. (SODA SPRINGS PLANT)
The 158-acre Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. (Soda Springs Plant) Superfund site is a mile north of Soda Springs, Idaho. From 1963 to 1999, a vanadium production plant was on-site. Operators stored liquid industrial wastes from the plant in ponds on-site. The ponds leaked chemicals into surface water and groundwater. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1989. Kerr-McGee landfilled pond sediment and capped tailings in place. Other cleanup has included waste disposal, waste excavation, construction of a waste repository and the demolition of site buildings. In 2006, Kerr-McGee reincorporated as Tronox, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2009. The Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust LLC (The Trust) now owns and maintains the site. Groundwater monitoring is ongoing. EPA is planning future cleanup actions and released a Proposed Plan in March 2023. Agricultural fields are on part of the site. In November 2023, EPA selected the revised remedy for the Site and issued a Record of Decision Amendment. The revised remedy adds active groundwater treatment (in-situ and ex-situ) in the areas on-Site with higher concentrations of contamination The Trust is responsible for positioning the estimated 547-acre property for safe, beneficial reuse. The transfer, sale or disposition of any part of the site must be approved by EPA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality as provided in the Tronox bankruptcy settlement documents. Currently, about 278 acres of the Site are leased for farming. Three on-site buildings are leased for storage. To help facilitate site redevelopment, the Trust is in regular communication with the Soda Springs City Council and the Four County Alliance of Southeastern Idaho to help identify and evaluate prospective companies. Efforts to promote redevelopment are anticipated to increase as remedy selection finishes and remedy design and construction steps progress.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA did not have economic data related to on-site businesses, or economic data were not applicable due to site use. For additional information click here.
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MONSANTO CHEMICAL CO. (SODA SPRINGS PLANT)
The 800-acre Monsanto Chemical Co. (Soda Springs Plant) Superfund site is outside Soda Springs, Idaho. It includes the 540-acre Monsanto plant as well as 260 acres of buffer area. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1990 after sampling found contamination in groundwater and soils. EPA required that Monsanto place restrictions on the buffer area. In 1998, Monsanto put land use controls on the buffer area. Monsanto took actions to control harmful emissions from contaminated material on-site. It is looking at other materials as potential sources of contamination. In a 2018 review, groundwater monitoring found that natural cleanup of some contaminants may not be occurring. It also found that the area of groundwater contamination is larger than originally defined. In response, a supplemental remedial investigation, including pilot testing for groundwater treatment, is underway. EPA will select new groundwater cleanup actions based on the investigation’s findings. Monsanto continues to operate its facility on-site, producing refined phosphorus. Several farmers also own parts of the site. Bayer Cropscience LP acquired Monsanto in 2018 and is still active on-site. Part of the site’s buffer area is in continued agricultural use.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, the EPA had data on 2 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 401 people and generated an estimated $22,719,375 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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PACIFIC HIDE & FUR RECYCLING CO.
The 17-acre Pacific Hide & Fur Recycling Co. Superfund site is in Pocatello, Idaho. The site was comprised of three contiguous properties including the McCarty property, the Pacific Recycling facility (owned and operated by Pacific Hide & Fur Depot, Inc.) and a portion of the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) property leased to Pacific Recycling. The McCarty property was used as part of a gravel mining operation as early as 1949. The property was later used as a metal salvaging yard from the late 1950’s to 1983. PCBs and Lead from site activities seeped into the soil. In 1983, EPA found PCB-contaminated and commingled lead-contaminated soil on-site. EPA removed over 500 capacitors and highly contaminated soil. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1984. Working with the owners, EPA led soil removal and treatment efforts. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1999. Pacific Recycling currently operates a recycling business on-site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on one on-site business. This business employed 21 people and generated an estimated $13,708,000 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD CO.
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. Superfund site, also known as the UPRR Sludge Pit site, is in Pocatello, Idaho. From 1961 to 1983, the Union Pacific Railroad dumped sludge from its wastewater treatment plant into a 1-acre unlined sludge pit. In 1983, EPA found that seepage from the sludge pit and a nearby railroad-tie-treating facility contributed to groundwater contamination. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1984. Under an agreement with EPA, UPRR conducted cleanup activities, which finished in 1994. The cleanup involved removing sludge and soil for off-site disposal. UPRR also pre-treated millions of gallons of groundwater before transferring it to the city’s water treatment plant for final processing. After cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1997. The site is part of a larger business area that includes industrial and commercial buildings used for manufacturing, milling, shipping and retail sales. An active railroad line extends across the site.
Last updated October 2025
As of December 2024, EPA had data on 26 on-site businesses. These businesses employed 297 people and generated an estimated $124,140,590 in annual sales revenue. For additional information click here.
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