The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced May 17, 2024, that PotlatchDeltic Land & Lumber, LLC., of St. Maries, Idaho, will pay $225,000 for alleged Clean Water Act violations.
PotlatchDeltic discharges into a section of the St. Joe River, which is Tribal waters. The St. Joe River flows into Lake Coeur d’Alene and is a critical habitat for bull trout. Under the Clean Water Act, PotlatchDeltic is required to comply with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
The EPA conducted an inspection in March 2017 to evaluate PotlatchDeltic’s compliance with its permits and found PotlatchDeltic has numerous stormwater violations, such as failure to implement corrective actions following continued benchmark exceedances and implement adequate stormwater pollution prevention plan controls.
Stormwater runoff from lumber facilities containing zinc and other pollutants, when not treated and discharge directly into waterbodies, can cause significant harm to surrounding waterbodies.
PotlatchDeltic agreed to extensive remedies to come into and remain in compliance with it Clean Water Act permits. These include facility improvements, construction of a new filtration system and combining its outfalls.
PotlatchDeltic also agreed to perform two mitigation actions designed to protect and enhance habitat for trout and salmon in Hangman Creek on the company’s property.
The company will place a conservation easement on its property that will provide 100-year, no timber harvest stream buffers of 75-feet along more than 17,800 feet of shoreline for five streams, protecting around 61.25 acres.
PotlatchDeltic also agreed to replace four road culverts on its property that are currently blocking fish passage and limiting access to spawning habitat.
