Crews Clean Up Contaminated Soil in Idaho

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) Workers have removed soil in northern Idaho that had been contaminated with ammonia and nitrate. The Lewiston Tribune reports that Moscow Urban Renewal Agency executive director Bill Belknap says the contaminants came from tanks of agricultural fertilizer that were on the site in the 1960s.

Belknap says the excavation of 1,000 yards of contaminated soil from three-quarters of an acre is one of many steps in a cleanup project funded largely by the Environmental Protection Agency.

He says the site is owned by the URA, which is contributing to the cleanup costs and hopes to get clearance from the state to sell the property in the next couple months. Crews still need to remove nitrates from water 10 to 12 feet below the surface.