The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall plan to appeal a land exchange agreement between the J.R. Simplot Co. and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) after a top BLM official from Washington flew to Pocatello, Idaho, to sign the deal.
The Black Rock Land Exchange will enable Simplot to expand its operations near its Don phosphate fertilizer complex west of Pocatello in exchange for Simplot providing BLM a greater amount of acreage that will provide permanent protection for crucial mule deer winter habitat and public recreational access within the Blackrock Canyon Recreation Management Zone.
The Shoshone-Bannocks, however, said they are against the exchange because they are concerned the agreement will pave the way for more pollution of the already contaminated site, imperiling cultural resources. “The tribes strongly oppose the Blackrock Land Exchange, which will expand an existing Superfund site that’s on the national priorities list as one of the most highly contaminated sites in the country,” said Tribal attorney Paul Echohawk.
Among the tribal cultural concerns are that the agreement could lead to continued groundwater contamination reaching the Fort Hall Bottoms, which the tribes consider sacred land where tribal members exercise their hunting and fishing treaty rights. It plans to appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals.
The Portneuf Resource Council, a local conservation organization, said the agreement would allow part of the Power County fertilizer plant to expand into Bannock County and make Simplot’s huge gypsum slag waste pile more visible to Pocatello residents. It complained the exchange’s approval was done with little fanfare, impact evaluation, or public input. “It’s something that is going to affect Pocatello for at least 80 years,” said Chairman Mike Engle.
The 713.5 acres of federal land being conveyed to Simplot adjacent to its plant will enable the company to construct cooling ponds to reduce fluoride emissions, provide additional space for plant operations, and extend the plant’s life. In exchange, Simplot is donating 160 acres and providing an additional 666.46 acres of non-federal land within the Chinese Peak-Blackrock Canyon area.
Casey Hammond, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, who visited Pocatello, and William Perry Pendley, BLM Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, praised the land exchange for providing outstanding recreational opportunities while protecting crucial habitat for mule deer and other native species.
“This exchange also ensures that Simplot can continue to contribute to eastern Idaho’s economy,” Hammond said, noting it will protect about 600 Simplot jobs at the Pocatello plant and Smoky Canyon Mine and another 1,300 jobs that indirectly rely on the Don Plant. “The first and most important thing is it allows them to continue operating into the future.”
Hammond said BLM considered tribal comments and chose to amend its plans to remove 4.12 acres from the exchange that contained a concentration of cultural resources so tribal members may retain access to them.
Simplot first proposed the exchange in 1994, but the approval process was delayed after concerns arose regarding groundwater quality in the Eastern Michaud Flats near Simplot’s Don Plant and the adjacent FMC elemental phosphorus plant, which was designated a Superfund site in 1998 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
BLM approved the Blackrock Land Exchange in 2007, but the Shoshone-Bannocks challenged it in U.S. District Court in Idaho, charging that BLM was obligated to prepare an EIS under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In May 2011, the court agreed with the tribes and ordered BLM to prepare the EIS. BLM issued a final environmental impact statement for the Blackrock Land Exchange earlier this summer (GM June 5, p. 1).