Skip to Main Content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

You are here:
Contact Us

Property Details for Blue North Mill


On this page:


Legal Notices

Profile Information

formerly Three Rivers Mill
Government
244213
283 Woodland Road KAMIAH, ID 83536
114
17-310
46.24168156095757 / -116.02757343740886
1
Griffith, Terri
Griffith.Terri@epa.gov
206-553-8511


Top of Page

Property Location



Top of Page

Property Progress


Top of Page

CAs Associated with this Property

CA NameCA #StateTypeAnnouncement Year
Nez Perce TribeRP96046315IDSection 128(a) State/Tribal2024
Nez Perce TribeRP96046313IDSection 128(a) State/Tribal2020
Nez Perce TribeRP96046311IDSection 128(a) State/Tribal2016
Nez Perce TribeBF02J01501IDAssessment2021
Nez Perce TribeRP96046312IDSection 128(a) State/Tribal2018


Top of Page

Assessment Activities at this Property

ActivityEPA FundingStart DateCompletion DateCAAccomplishment Counted?Counted When?
Phase I Environmental Assessment$40,096.0006/03/201906/07/2019Nez Perce TribeYFY21
Phase II Environmental Assessment$5,530.0005/13/202109/22/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$35,536.7909/07/202109/22/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$4,025.1009/20/202109/22/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$48,727.0008/03/202008/07/2020Nez Perce TribeN
Phase II Environmental Assessment$87,430.0011/16/202301/10/2024Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$1,083.6709/20/202109/21/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$50,650.0008/23/202205/08/2024Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$8,242.5010/01/202008/16/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$8,641.1806/22/202109/20/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$5,019.4909/29/202109/30/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$6,516.2009/20/202109/21/2021Nez Perce Tribe
Phase II Environmental Assessment$43,936.0005/20/202009/30/2020Nez Perce Tribe
Supplemental Assessment$17,853.0009/21/202301/10/2024Nez Perce Tribe
Supplemental Assessment$10,355.0006/14/202307/20/2023Nez Perce Tribe
Supplemental Assessment$7,363.0003/20/202305/08/2023Nez Perce Tribe


Is Cleanup Necessary? Yes
EPA Assessment Funding: $381,004.93
Leveraged Funding:
Total Funding: $381,004.93


Top of Page

Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Planning or Assessment

There is no data for Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Planning or Assessment.


Top of Page

Contaminants and Media


Asbestos
Lead
Other Metals
PCBS
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up
Building Materials
Soil
NOT Cleaned up
NOT Cleaned up


Top of Page

Cleanup Activities

There are no current cleanup activities.


Cleanup/Treatment Implemented: N
Cleanup/Treatement Categories:
Addl Cleanup/Treatment info:
Address of Data Source:
Total ACRES Cleaned Up: 114
Number of Cleanup Jobs Leveraged:
EPA Cleanup Funding:
Leveraged Funding:
Cost Share Funding:
Total Funding:


Top of Page

Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Demolition or Cleanup

There is no data for Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Demolition or Cleanup.


Top of Page

Institutional and Engineering Controls

No
No


Top of Page

Redevelopment and Other Leveraged Accomplishments

There are no current redevelopment activities.


Number of Redevelopment Jobs Leveraged:
Actual Acreage of Greenspace Created:
Leveraged Funding:


Top of Page

Climate Adaption and Mitigation - Redevelopment

There is no data for Climate Adaption and Mitigation – Redevelopment


Top of Page

Additional Property Attributes

Former lumber mill located on the "Kamiah Bend" of the Clearwater River at Kamiah, Idaho. Former lumber mill is located on 114 acres of riverfront property and is the site of a former winter village of the Nez Perce that hosted the Lewis & Clark expedition on their return east in 1806 as they waited for spring snowmelt to subside. The origin story for the Nez Perce Tribe centers on a basalt outcropping just upstream of the former mill site, indicative of the immediate area's cultural significance to the Nez Perce Tribe. The site operated as a lumber mill from 1940 to 2016 under three operators; Potlach Corporation (1940-1980), Weyerhaeuser (1980-1995); Blue North Forest Products, LLC (2010-2016). The Tribe purchased the property from Idaho Forest Products, LLC in December 2018 who purchased the defunct mill from Blue North Forest Products and were in the process of salvaging mill equipment prior to sale to the Tribe. Recognized environmental concerns center around legacy contamination from decades of industrial-scale lumber milling; including boiler ash stockpiles, a 60-acre log yard, heavy equipment maintenance, fuel storage both above and below ground, transformer storage areas, and a sewage lagoon. Due to the age of the buildings on site, hazardous building materials including; asbestos, lead-based paint, mercury, and PCBs were enumerated and an abatement estimate generated by a Qualified Environmental Professional in August 2020. Currently, the site comprises of a 60-acre log yard with compacted and acidic soil, 17 remaining mill buildings, 4 building material debris piles, and 4 building foundations destroyed in a January 2018 fire during salvage operations across the 114-acre site. The site is also bisected by a defunct rail line, owned by Mike Williams, that once allowed transport of finished lumber down the Clearwater River towards coastal markets. Redevelopment and future uses have been proposed by the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee and for-profit arm, Tribal Enterprises to reuse two 20,000 sq ft mill buildings, after abatement, for a bottled water and hemp textile manufacturing business. The Tribe intends to utilize its' 50,000 acre-ft-yr water right from the Clearwater River it secured during the Snake River Basin Adjudication 2007 Consent Decree to supply water for the water bottling plant and textile manufacturing facilities. One of the reusable mill buildings has rail access on the downstream side of the property and the Tribe is discussing with Mr Williams, improvements to the rail line to allow for rail distribution. Also planned is a right-of-way to convert with Mr Williams to convert the railroad bridge on the upstream side of the property to a 1 mile pedestrian access trail for city of Kamiah residents where trails and cultural heritage resources will bring 20+ acres of greenspace to the community. In addition to the planned manufacturing facilities, pedestrian access, and greenspace; the Tribe is currently working with RevoluSun, an Idaho-based solar provider, to train 40 Tribal employees as solar installers for immediate deployment of solar resources at the Tribal government seat in Lapwai. This workforce will be used to install and maintain a utility-scale solar array and battery storage bank at Blue North Mill to power the new manufacturing facilities. Any excess power generation can either be stored on site in the battery bank or sold to the public utility company, Avista, who currently runs high power transmission lines to the property.
Industry (114)


Top of Page

Release 3.0.2