A partnership between state and local agencies as well as the Coeur d’Alene Tribe is reviewing 11 sites within the Lake Coeur d’Alene basin to see which may be eligible for part of $130 million in restoration funds.

The recovery settlement funds are earmarked to compensate for “injuries to natural resources made from heavy metal contamination” involving several Silver Valley mining companies that partook in mining activities in the basin starting in the late 1870s.

Kajsa Vanderiet, restoration plan coordinator with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, provided an update on the restoration plan this week to the Kootenai County Natural Resources Advisory Board.

“The areas being looked at are rivers, streams, some wetlands and recreational areas in Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties,” Vanderiet said Friday. “We expect to have a funding decision on which sites to restore sometime this month.”

The work is overseen by the Bunker Hill Superfund Site Restoration Partnership acting as natural resource trustees. The group is comprised of the Idaho DEQ, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Members of the Restoration Partnership are charged with determining which sites to fund, Vanderiet said.

The partnership was developed as a way to involve the public in natural resource restoration. Its primary mission is to return natural resources to a healthy condition.

“We engage the public by providing ways to help shape the plan, propose specific restoration projects, and partner with us on project work,” Vanderiet said.

In determining restoration sites, she said the Restoration Partnership accepts public input, or suggestions from groups such as the Natural Resources Advisory Board or county commissioners.

The restoration projects within the Coeur d’Alene basin are expected to be ongoing for 20-30 years, Vanderiet said.