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Coeur d’Alene River (South Fork) Subbasin

Data Details
Hydrologic Unit Codes 17010302
Size 298 square miles (190,765 acres)
Water Bodies with EPA-Approved TMDLs (Category 4a) Canyon Creek, East Fork Pine Creek, Government Gulch, Ninemile Creek, Pine Creek, South Fork Coeur d’Alene River
Beneficial Uses Affected Cold water aquatic life, salmonid spawning
Major Land Uses Mining, forestry, recreation, urban-suburban
Date Approved by EPA August 2003 EPA Approval Letter

Subbasin Characteristics

The South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and its tributaries drain the entire subbasin represented by hydrologic unit code 17010302. The river and its tributaries flow from the Coeur d’Alene Mountains to the river’s confluence with the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Enaville, Idaho. The subbasin encompasses approximately 298 square miles and is a mix of communities, mining and other industrial sites, forests, and landownerships.

Most streams in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River subbasin are listed as impaired by sediment, metals, or temperature. In 2000, DEQ and EPA developed TMDLs for cadmium, lead, and zinc in the Coeur d’Alene Basin, including the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and tributaries. In 2003, the Idaho Supreme Court determined that the Coeur d’Alene Basin metals TMDLs were void because they were not promulgated according to the rulemaking requirements of the state Administrative Procedures Act.

2002 Subbasin Assessment and TMDL

Sediment was listed as a pollutant impairing cold water aquatic life for several stream segments in the watershed. Sources of sediment included mine waste piles, urban land use, road erosion, and encroachment on stream channels and floodplains. Impairment of the cold water beneficial use was demonstrated through low diversity of macroinvertebrates and low trout abundance. These impacts were the result of both metals and sediment. Impacts of the two pollutants are not easily differentiated. However, the impaired stream segments in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River subbasin typically had low residual pool volumes compared to segments with high trout abundance. These data indicate excess sediment was filling pools. Therefore, sediment TMDLs were developed for all of the sediment-impaired stream segments in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River subbasin.

2002 TMDL: Streams and Pollutants for Which TMDLs Were Developed

Stream Pollutants
South Fork Coeur d’Alene River (6 segments) Sediment
Canyon Creek Sediment
Ninemile Creek Sediment
East Fork Ninemile Creek Sediment
Government Gulch Sediment
East Fork Pine Creek (2 segments) Sediment
Pine Creek Sediment

Subbasin Document(s)

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DEQ Boise Regional Office
1445 N. Orchard St.
Boise, ID 83706
Ph: (208) 373-0550
Fax: (208) 373-0287
Toll Free: (888) 800-3480
DEQ Coeur d’Alene Regional Office
2110 Ironwood Parkway
Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
Ph: (208) 769-1422
Fax: (208) 769-1404
Toll Free: (877) 370-0017
DEQ Idaho Falls Regional Office
900 N. Skyline Drive, Suite B
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Ph: (208) 528-2650
Fax: (208) 528-2695
Toll Free: (800) 232-4635
Kellogg Superfund Project Office
1005 McKinley Ave.
Kellogg, ID 83837
Ph: (208) 783-5781
Fax: (208) 783-4561
Toll Free: N/A
DEQ Lewiston Regional Office
1118 F St.
Lewiston, ID 83501
Ph: (208) 799-4370
Fax: (208) 799-3451
Toll Free: (877) 541-3304
DEQ Pocatello Regional Office
444 Hospital Way, #300
Pocatello, ID 83201
Ph: (208) 236-6160
Fax: (208) 236-6168
Toll Free: (888) 655-6160
DEQ Twin Falls Regional Office
650 Addison Avenue West, Suite 110
Twin Falls, ID 83301
Ph: (208) 736-2190
Fax: (208) 736-2194
Toll Free: (800) 270-1663

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