Idaho
Buying Land in Shoshone County, Idaho
Shoshone County, seated at historic Wallace in north Idaho's Silver Valley, sits atop one of the largest silver districts on Earth -- and inside one of the country's largest, longest-running Superfund cleanups. The two facts are inseparable, and this page treats both carefully: where the Superfund boundaries actually fall, what county zoning says about them, and what that means for buying land here.
Understanding the Superfund site's actual boundaries before you buy
The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site traces back to more than a century of lead-silver-zinc mining, milling, and smelting in the Silver Valley, with the EPA formally dividing cleanup responsibility into three Operable Units. Operable Unit 1 covers the populated portions of a 21-square-mile area known locally as "the Box," which includes the cities of Kellogg, Wardner, Smelterville, and Pinehurst. Operable Unit 2 covers the non-populated portions of that same Box. Operable Unit 3 is far larger, covering documented mining-related contamination throughout the Coeur d'Alene River Basin outside the Box -- the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River corridor, its floodplains and tributaries, and the mainstem river down toward Lake Coeur d'Alene and, ultimately, the Spokane River into Washington state.
This isn't a matter of general regional awareness -- it's written directly into Shoshone County's own zoning code. Title 10-1-5 of the county code establishes the "Bunker Hill Superfund Site Overlay District and Operable Unit Three Institutional Controls Program Administrative Area Standards," a real zoning overlay tied specifically to these EPA-defined boundaries. Any buyer evaluating land in or near Kellogg, Wardner, Smelterville, Pinehurst, or along the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River corridor should ask Shoshone County Planning & Zoning directly whether a specific parcel falls within OU1, OU2, or OU3 -- the answer determines what permitting and disclosure obligations apply.
What buying land inside the site actually involves
Panhandle Health District administers the site's Institutional Controls Program (ICP), which exists to make sure the clean-soil barriers placed over historically lead-contaminated ground during decades of remediation stay intact. In practice, this means many types of construction, excavation, and other dirt-disturbing work within the affected area require an ICP permit before work begins -- these permits are free, but they are a real, additional step beyond a standard county building permit. Disturbing a protective soil barrier without a permit and inspection is treated seriously, since compromised barriers create a genuine health risk, particularly to children and pregnant women.
Separately, anyone selling, buying, or renting property within the Superfund site is subject to real estate disclosure requirements under a program known locally as "The Dirt" -- sellers and agents must disclose documented barrier status and dirt-disturbance permit history for a property, and these records can be requested free of charge through the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission and the official cdabasin.idaho.gov site. Requesting a property's disclosure record should be a standard part of due diligence for any Shoshone County parcel within or near the historically affected area -- it's a straightforward, no-cost way to know exactly what's documented about a specific property's soil-contamination and remediation history before buying.
A cleanup still in progress, in a district still actively mined
The Bunker Hill cleanup is not a finished chapter. In August 2025, EPA selected the Dredge Road property as a new waste-consolidation site for contaminated material from the lower Coeur d'Alene River Basin, with design work expected through 2026-2027, construction beginning around 2028, and the site accepting waste from 2029 onward. The statutory five-year review of the site's overall remedy -- the sixth such review since cleanup began -- is anticipated in September 2026. Real, measurable progress has occurred: blood-lead levels among local children have dropped by more than half from historically elevated levels to below the CDC's current reference level. But the scale and duration of this cleanup mean a buyer should expect institutional controls, occasional nearby remediation activity, and periodic EPA review to remain part of life in the affected area for years to come, not something already concluded.
At the same time, Shoshone County's Silver Valley remains a genuinely active mining district, not simply a historic one. Hecla Mining's Lucky Friday Mine, near Mullan, has operated continuously since 1942 -- more than 80 years -- and remains one of the county's largest private employers, with a documented regional economic impact including tens of millions of dollars in annual wages and local vendor purchases. Since 1884, the district as a whole has produced more than 1.18 billion ounces of silver, making it the largest silver-producing district in the Western Hemisphere and among the top three in the world. For a land buyer, this means the county's mining identity is a live, present-day economic driver as well as a historical and environmental one -- worth understanding both sides of before evaluating a specific parcel's location, value, and any nearby mining claim or operational activity.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Shoshone County
This research pass could not verify a standalone Shoshone County GIS/parcel-mapping department contact separate from the Assessor's office, or a Road & Bridge direct phone line -- confirm both directly with the county if needed. The U.S. EPA (Region 10) and the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission are also directly relevant contacts for detailed Superfund-specific questions beyond what county or health-district staff can address; see cdabasin.idaho.gov for current EPA project contacts.
Planning & Zoning
Shoshone County Planning & Zoning Administration
Confirming a parcel's zoning district (of the county's fourteen zone districts and two overlay districts), whether it falls within the Bunker Hill Superfund Site Overlay District, and permitted uses.
Environmental Health
Panhandle Health District -- Shoshone County Office / Institutional Controls Program
Septic permitting, and Institutional Controls Program (ICP) permits for construction or soil-disturbing work within the Bunker Hill Superfund Site.
Other
Bunker Hill / Coeur d'Alene Basin Superfund Site -- Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission
Requesting free property disclosure records ("The Dirt") on documented soil-barrier and dirt-disturbance history for a specific parcel within the Superfund site.
Assessor / Property Tax
Shoshone County Assessor
Current assessed value, parcel records, and property tax questions for a specific parcel.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Shoshone County Clerk
Recorded deed, easement, plat, and mining-claim-related recording history for a specific parcel.
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Sources
- BUNKER HILL MINING & METALLURGICAL COMPLEX Superfund Site Profile — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (accessed 2026-09)
- History and Cleanup - Bunker Hill / Coeur D'Alene Basin Superfund Site — Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission (accessed 2026-09)
- EPA selects new site for Lower CDA Basin cleanup waste — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (accessed 2026-09)
- 10-1-5: Bunker Hill Superfund Site Overlay District and Operable Unit Three Institutional Controls Program Administrative Area Standards — American Legal Publishing / Shoshone County, Idaho Code (accessed 2026-09)
- THE DIRT: Property Disclosures - Bunker Hill / Coeur D'Alene Basin Superfund Site — Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission (accessed 2026-09)
- Planning & Zoning Administration — Shoshone County, Idaho Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Home – Panhandle Health District — Panhandle Health District (accessed 2026-09)
- Lucky Friday | Idaho | Hecla Mining — Hecla Mining Company (accessed 2026-09)
- Digital Geology of Idaho - Geology of Northern Idaho and the Silver Valley — Idaho State University (accessed 2026-09)
- U.S. Census Bureau population estimate context (Shoshone County) — Wikipedia (cross-checked against Census QuickFacts) (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09