Shoshone-Bannock tribal officials say they oppose a proposed land swap between the J.R. Simplot Co. and the Bureau of Land Management that would give Simplot a large parcel of federal land near its Don phosphate fertilizer plant in exchange for a mule deer winter range near Blackrock Canyon.
The tribes said they fear the company will use the land it gets for phosphate mine waste that could degrade local air quality and pollute the Portneuf River. Piles of phosphogypsum concern them, because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designates the gypsum as a radioactive waste product that decays to form radon ?Çô a carcinogenic, radioactive gas.
The land swap will trade 680 acres of the mule deer winter range near Blackrock Canyon that Simplot owns in exchange for 719 acres of BLM property in the Trail Creek area near the company’s phosphate production area. Simplot acquired the 680 acres near Blackrock Canyon in the early 1990s. Much of the BLM’s Trail Creek acreage was charred on June 17 by a wildfire. The BLM hosted a public scoping meeting last fall for public comment about the land swap.
Rick Phillips, a Simplot spokesman, said the land trade will allow the company to expand the waste pile that remains after phosphate is removed from slurry transported from the Smoky Canyon Mine nearly 100 miles away. The Don plant’s long-term viability depends on Simplot’s ability to handle the gypsum product, he said.
David Pacioretty, the BLM’s Pocatello field office manager, said the land exchange and environmental concerns are separate issues. He said the BLM is commissioned to ensure the land it gets from Simplot is of equal or more value to the Trail Creek area property. The Shoshone-Bannock officials will have the opportunity to voice their concerns when EPA and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality consider Simplot’s application to build a new pile.
When the Michaud Flats Superfund site, which includes the Simplot and FMC industrial properties, was created, Simplot’s gypsum pile was identified as a potential source of water contamination. Phillips said Simplot could prevent contaminants from leaching into the watershed by installing clay or vinyl liners.