This agreement provides funding to the idaho department of environmental quality (ideq)

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 awarded $464,711 to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality on October 1, 2025, under the Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Training Grants and Cooperative Agreements program (CFDA 66.436) to monitor and assess transboundary mining pollution in the Kootenai Watershed.

IDEQ will procure essential monitoring equipment, conduct monthly water quality and selenium testing, perform data quality assurance throughout the project period, deliver bi-annual reporting and data sharing, and coordinate with British Columbia's Environmental Assessment Office. The recipient will generate water quality data providing current contaminant snapshots and trend analysis within the watershed. Deliverables include selenium guidance documents, water quality status determinations under the Integrated Report 303(d) listing process, total maximum daily loads for selenium, pollutant load allocations potentially developed in coordination with British Columbia, and a comprehensive pollutant reduction plan to mitigate selenium pollution in the Kootenai/Y Watershed. The data collected will inform regulatory and management decisions benefiting states, federal and tribal entities, and Idaho communities relying on the agency to protect waters for public use and ecological health. No subawards are included in this assistance agreement. Performance occurs statewide in Idaho with a period of performance from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2031.

Specifically, the recipient will carry out activities to monitor and assess transboundary mining pollution in the kootenai watershed. Activities:the activities to be performed include procurement of essential equipment, monthly water quality and selenium testing, data quality assurance for the duration of the project, as well as BI-annual reporting and data sharing, and transboundary agency coordination including collaboration with british columbia's environmental assessment office. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include water quality data providing current snapshots of the contaminants within the kootenai watershed as well as providing new data points for ongoing trends within the system. The expected outcomes include selenium guidance documents and water quality status under the integrated report (IR) 303(d) listing. Data collected through this project, when sufficient to do so, would also be used to develop total maximum daily loads (tmdl) for selenium, pollutant load allocation (with possible agreements with british columbia), and the creation of a comprehensive pollutant reduction plan to mitigate and reduce selenium pollution in the kootenai/y watershed. The intended beneficiaries include states, federal and tribal entities that partner with the recipient to address challenges in the kootenai river. The project would also ultimately benefit idaho communities that rely on the recipient to ensure protection of idaho's waters for public use and ecological health.