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MARCH 16, 2001

Idaho's Republican Congressional delegation on Thursday urged Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Todd Whitman not to put a site near the Coeur d'Alene Reservation on her Superfund National Priorities List.

The 4-acre St. Maries log yard is under consideration for the designation because it is leaking creosote, a cancer-causing contaminant, into part of the St. Joe River. The river contains endangered trout and flows into the reservation.

But the GOPs say any designation would undermine "the cooperative efforts of Idaho local governments, small business, tribes, and citizens to work together to improve public health or the environment." The tribe, however, has supported the Superfund designation.

The tribe has battled other polluted sites and has been working with the federal government to force private companies to clean them up.

Get the Letter:
Letter to Christie Todd Whitman (3/15)

Get the Story:
EPA chief asked to stay out of log yard (The Spokesman Review 3/16)

Relevant Links:
EPA Region 10, Including listing for St. Maries Log Yard - www.epa.gov/region10
The Superfund Program - www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm

Related Stories:
Superfund trial begins in Idaho (Enviro 01/23)
EPA refuses request to stop cleanup (Enviro 12/22)
Tribe supporting EPA cleanup (Enviro 12/07)