By The Idaho Statesman staff and wire reports

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne

SPOKANE -- Mining companies have pledged $250 million toward a 30-year cleanup of contaminated "hot spots" in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne announced Wednesday in Spokane.

If accepted by the federal government and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the proposal would attempt to remove lead, cadmium and other wastes remaining from a century of mining activities in Idaho's Silver Valley.

But any additional cleanup funds will have to come from the federal government, Kempthorne said.

"This is a viable, aggressive offer from the state and mining companies," Kempthorne said. "If the federal government and tribe accept, we can clean up the Coeur d'Alene River and surrounding basin instead of litigating this for years."

The Coeur d'Alene River flows through northern Idaho's Silver Valley into Lake Coeur d'Alene, the headwaters of the Spokane River.

Cost estimates to clean up the hazardous metals have reached as high as $4 billion. Tribal negotiators want the entire 1,500-mile basin cleaned up, with a full federal Superfund listing, if necessary.

Many local residents have opposed such a listing, saying the word "Superfund" brings with it a stigma that could depress the local economy as tourism and new business opportunities go elsewhere.

Under Kempthorne's plan, federal agencies would be asked to contribute as much money as, if not more than, the $250 million.

In exchange for annual cleanup payments, the mining companies would be protected from litigation, the governor said.

Under the agreement, chief executive officers of Hecla Mining Co., Asarco and Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. pledged $154 million in actual payments, with the remainder to come from royalties pegged to the price of precious metals, Kempthorne said. A fourth company might also join, he said.

"This may not be good news for a lot of attorneys, because the point of our plan is not to be in court," he said. "The point of our plan is to go out and clean all this up."

Details of the plan have yet to be worked out among the mining companies, federal and state governments and the Indian tribe, the Republican governor said.

A formal plan for public review is expected by the end of July.

If approved by all the parties, the plan could speed cleanup.

"I think this agreement ... can be a real watershed event to get over the hurdle of litigation and get actions on the ground," Stephen Allred, director of Idaho's Department of Environmental Quality, said by telephone from Boise.

The proposal calls for creation of a local entity to do the work of physically removing mining wastes or capping them with "clean" soils and materials, Allred said.

He said it is anticipated that the work would include smaller projects, costing $10 million to $15 million a year, during the next 30 years.

Kempthorne said the agreement was "not an easy decision" for the mining companies, which are contending with low metals prices. But investors are buoyed by the fact that the agreement would limit potential liability, giving investors a better handle on costs, he said.

"The proposal will move us from decades of discussions and litigation to actual cleanup, which will protect public health, the environment and the economy of the Coeur d'Alene area," Kempthorne said.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials in Seattle said they they learned of the proposed settlement only Wednesday.

"Based on what the governor said in his press release, we'd like to see more," said Mark MacIntyre, an EPA spokesman.

Kempthorne said he urged Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman to accept the plan and complete negotiations within 60 days. He also asked the Coeur d'Alene Tribe to participate in the negotiations.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said nearly everyone wants to get the cleanup started as soon as possible.

"I encourage the federal trustees and the Department of Justice to cooperate with the state of Idaho and accept the agreement," Craig said.