Everyone deserves a home free of mining waste.

That means birds and fish, too.

The next phase of Superfund mining waste cleanup will focus mostly on ecological projects, spelled out in the Upper Coeur d'Alene River Basin Proposed Plan the Environmental Protection Agency released for public comment on Monday.

Cleanup of contaminated human properties is nearly complete, said Terry Harwood with the Department of Environmental Quality, which has collaborated with the EPA on cleanups from the start.

So now it's time to focus on remediating fisheries and wetlands, he said.

"Some people think we just do the human health (remedies) and leave," Harwood said. "But there's other environmental issues we need to deal with as well."

Although the proposed plan still addresses some human health issues, the $1.3 billion cleanup phase would focus on remediation of surface water, soil, sediments and source materials in the Upper Basin.

Ecological cleanup can be important, Harwood said.

The high zinc levels in the Coeur d'Alene River and Lake Coeur d'Alene, for instance, could eventually deter fish from using spawning grounds there.

"The water in the lake is OK from a human health standpoint, but humans are much more tolerant of these things (contaminants) in the water than the critters are," he said.

Projects would include capturing contaminated groundwater from Upper Basin rivers and treating them at a wastewater treatment plant. Metal concentrations in soil and sediments would also be reduced in locations like wetlands.

"You've got water fowl, geese and ducks who get lead sediment in their digestive system," Harwood said.

The plan also includes measures to maintain previous human health remedies, like guarding against flooding on properties that have been treated for mining waste.

"It would be dumb to spend all this money to protect people's properties and have a rainstorm wash it all off," Harwood said.

The proposed plan is the result of a collaborative process among EPA, governments with jurisdictions in the Upper Basin and the public.

Writing the document took about a year and a half, said Bill Adams, EPA project manager.

"We've had probably 20 meetings in various groups. It feels pretty good to at least get to this point in the process," Adams said.

Funding is a concern, he said, but at least immediate implementation should be covered by the $480 million awarded to the Bunker Hill Superfund site in the Asarco bankruptcy settlement last December.

"That's a good, significant amount of money," Adams said. "Obviously we're trying to grow that money by making investments. It will hopefully grow with time as we carefully spend it."

There will be a 45-day public comment period on the proposed plan, with a deadline of Aug. 25.

An open house and public meeting is scheduled Aug. 4 at the SMC Health and Education Center in Smelterville.

The open house will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and the public meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Adams advised folks to peruse the plan and contribute their opinions.

"This is the key opportunity to provide their comments. There will be work that will be occurring over a long period of time in the Upper Basin, within and around a lot of these communities," Adams said.

He added that cleanup projects might also be a source of jobs in those areas.

"We will be looking toward local resources to accomplish those tasks," Adams said.

After reviewing and responding to comments, the EPA will issue its final cleanup decision in a ROD Amendment later this year.

Public comments can be submitted to cdabasin@epa.gov, or to: Coeur d'Alene Basin Team, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 6th Ave., Suite 900, MS ECL-113, Seattle, WA 98101.

The plan can be viewed online at http://go.usa.gov/igD.

CDs of the plan can also be obtained at locations including Molstead Library at North Idaho College, the EPA Coeur d'Alene Field Office, 1910 Northwest Blvd., Suite 208, the Spokane Public Library and the Wallace Public Library.