CATALDO, Idaho -- People in Cataldo, Idaho don't want contaminated soil from the Silver Valley in a waste dump site near their homes.

Mostly because the site will be in the middle of a flood plain.

The Environmental Protection Agency is building a repository just west of town and across I-90 from the historic Cataldo Mission.

Roger Hatcher

Contaminated soil disposal area in Cataldo, Idaho.

Neighbors say lead waste will be carried down the Coeur d'Alene River into Lake Coeur d'Alene and beyond.

But the EPA claims it's safe.

"It's not going to stay here," says concerned neighbor Jeanie Smith. "it's going to go down river, it's going to end up in Spokane, it's going to end up in the aquifer."

But the EPA claims it's safe.

"I'm confident the state engineers have designed the repository and have constructed it in a way to retain the contamination," says Ed Moreen, Environmental Protection Agency.

Some neighbors claim the EPA moved forward with construction before a public comment period ended. But, the EPA says it went through several comment periods before it purchased the land.