SUIT BROUGHT AGAINST EIGHT COMPANIES FOR EXTENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY THEIR MINING OPERATIONS IN THE COEUR D'ALENE RIVER BASIN IN NORTHERN IDAHO. THE COST OF RESTORING THE RIVER AND THE SURROUNDING AREA IS ESTIMATED IN THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THE AREA COVERS OVER 1,500 SQUARE MILES AND IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AREAS IN THE U.S. THE COMPLAINT FILED ON MARCH 22, 1996, IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN BOISE, ID ALLEGES THAT MORE THAN 70 MILLION TONS OF MINE WASTES HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED BY THE COMPANIES INTO THE COEUR D'ALENE RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. AS A RESULT OF THE COMTAMINATION, BIRDS, FISH AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND THEIR HABITATS, ALONG WITH FEDERAL LANDS, HAVE BEEN DAMAGED.
FOUR CONSENT DECREES HAVE BEEN ENTERED IN THIS CASE, THE LAST (HECLA) ON SEPT. 9, 2011. SEVERAL SMALLER PARTIES ARE BEING PURSUED UNDER ICIS CASE NO. 10-2008-0066.
The Hecla settlement (Order #4)is a CERCLA cash-out settlement pursuant to section(s) 107 and/or 122(b)(3) of CERCLA. Due to system limitations it is currently coded as being pursuant to Section 122(a) of CERCLA to allow for reporting the Volume of Contaminated Media addressed by the settlement as well as the Value of Complying Actions in ICIS. This data will be corrected once appropriate modifications are made to ICIS.