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Company outlines history and current controls for phosphate slag in Soda Springs
Summary
Company representatives reviewed decades‑long management of phosphate plant slag, citing a 1996 RCRA consent order, a long-running interagency slag work group, past road surveys and that the company does not sell slag for reuse.
Company representatives and local officials reviewed historical and current controls for phosphate plant slag — the sand‑like byproduct of elemental phosphorus production — and described ongoing technical oversight by federal and state regulators.
At a public presentation in Soda Springs, a company presenter said the slag issue was first flagged in the 1980s after regulators identified technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material in the phosphate ores. The presenter said a RCRA consent order signed in 1996 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the companies at the time (Monsanto and FMC) established a multi‑party Slag Work Group to manage long‑term operations and maintenance.
The presenter said the work group currently includes EPA, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Shoshone‑Bannock tribes, the responsible companies (FMC and, where applicable, Bayer), and the Southeast Idaho Public Health District. The group retains outside technical experts when needed; the presenter named “Dr. Bray” as a contracted technical expert currently supplying evaluations for the work group.
The presenter said the Southeast Idaho Public Health District handles public outreach and inquiries under a decision‑flow protocol; the health district consults the technical expert when questions require technical evaluation and then the responsible company may be contacted.
Company staff said slag west of the Fish Creek divide is managed by FMC and material east of the divide is managed by Bayer (previously Monsanto) under the 1996 consent order. The presenter said the company currently “does not sell and we do not make slag available for double use.”
Company staff recounted a road‑survey effort completed in 2016 (with roughly 15,000 sample locations across Caribou and Bannock counties) that EPA was still reviewing as of a 2018 submittal. The presenter said the review and follow‑up on some data were delayed by a vacant EPA project manager slot from about 2018 until roughly 2023, which prompted additional coordination and quality‑control work with EPA.
Asked about local exposures, the presenter said one short stretch of roadway in Caribou County was near the target attenuation threshold and that the most likely community remedy for that stretch would be a chip‑seal project or other road‑surface repair to reduce exposure. The presenter said the company had previously sold slag for aggregate and road base before sales were prohibited in the 1980s and that an on‑site pile is being managed; the presenter estimated roughly five to seven more years of available storage life for the current pile under present operations.
The presenter and attendees agreed the Slag Work Group will continue long‑term operational oversight and public outreach through the health district, and that technical questions will be referred to retained experts for evaluation. The presenter invited residents to use the health district website and the established inquiry flow to request evaluations or information.
