Department of
Environmental Quality

The Page Waste Repository, located west of Smelterville, Idaho, takes in waste soils contaminated with metals—lead being the metal of greatest concern—from development activity in the "Box." The Box is a 21-square-mile area along I-90 in the Silver Valley in northern Idaho. It includes the communities of Kellogg, Smelterville, Pinehurst, Wardner, Page, Elizabeth Park, Montgomery Gulch, and Ross Ranch. The Box is part of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site. The repository also takes in lead-contaminated soils from the local Institutional Controls Program (ICP).

The repository does not accept household refuse, electronics, information technology wastes, household hazardous wastes, wood waste, or construction waste that is not permitted by PHD under the ICP. To keep non-ICP trash out of the repository, access to Page is restricted. Access for disposal requires an ICP access card. The access card is provided to those who obtain an ICP permit. (For information about ICP permits, call the Panhandle Health District (PHD) at (208) 783-0707.)

Recent Developments

In 2009, a limited expansion of the facility was completed by the Upstream Mining Group (UMG). The expansion added about two acres to the site’s footprint. Capacity grew by about 75,000 cubic yards. Based on disposal rates over the previous 10 years, it was anticipated that the 2009 expansion would provide capacity for 3 to 7 more years.

Upon completion of the expansion, the existing repository was temporarily closed and about 12 acres were seeded with native grasses to control dust and reduce the amount of water soaking into the wastes. Part of the existing repository will be used to temporarily stockpile wastes and to implement a reuse program for concrete, asphalt, and organic (compostable) wastes.

Future Expansion

In 2011, we find that the repository is once again reaching capacity—filling up. As a result, further expansion of the facility has been proposed. The proposed expansion would add about 15 acres into the West Swamp and 21 acres in the East Swamp in three to five-acre phases over the next 100 years. This work would not create a new repository, but would add approximately 1.4 million cubic yards of capacity to the existing facility.

Looking to the Future

DEQ and EPA are developing expansion plans for long-term operations (50-100 years) of the ICP. However, because of near-term impacts to the contaminated West Page Swamp, DEQ and EPA are developing wetland mitigation plans to be implemented beginning in 2012. One of the target areas for recreating wetlands is an 18-acre parcel of state land adjacent to the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.