https://visitnorthidaho.com/community/coeur-dalene-idaho/
The population estimate of Shoshone County was 12,882 (July 2019). The population of Silver Valley is somewhere between 11,000-12,000. The total population of Kootenai County (county containing most of the lake, the city of Coeur d’Alene and its surrounding suburbs) is 165,697. Subtracting the cities of Post Falls (35,000), Rathdrum (8,700), Hayden (15,200), and around 20,000 for the northern areas, the rest of the Lake Coeur d’Alene Basin has around 85,000 residents. Hence, the region encompassed under the National Heritage Area will have around 100,000 residents, with 50,000 of them within the city of Coeur d’Alene. These numbers were calculated using figures from the US Census and the American Community Survey. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/
The region is around 93% white, with 1.5% of the population native american and 4.5% Latino (Vintage 2018 population estimates program, US Census). Median household income for 2014-2018 was $39,091 in Silver Valley, $48,893 in Coeur d’Alene city, and $54,457 in general Kootenai County (in 2018 dollars). 18.8% of Silver Valley residents, 16.1% of Coeur d’Alene city residents, and 10.3% of Kootenai County as a whole lived in poverty. Cost of living is relatively cheap, as a living hourly wage for an individual in Silver Valley is $10.77 and $11.62 in Kootenai County. Wealth disparities are likely high, especially between people who come for summer tourism and year-long residents. There are likely more economic and social opportunities in the city of Coeur d’Alene than in sparsely populated Silver Valley, as Lake Coeur d’Alene serves as a major economic anchor. The population of Kootenai County increased by 16% from 2010-2018, while the population of Silver Valley remained flat.
The Coeur d’Alene metro area (not including Silver Valley) ranks 422 out of 909 urban areas in the country based on total releases. Annual production-based waste has increased significantly in the last few years from 200,000 lbs in 2007 to 400,000 lbs in 2018.
Including Silver Valley, the largest emitters of waste in the area are the US EPA Bunker Hill Lead Superfund Site in Kellogg, the US Silver mine outside of Wallace, and the Hecla Lucky Friday Mine in Mullan. The Superfund site is cleaning up past environmental damage from mining and the Bunker Hill Smelter. The Lucky Friday Mine and US Silver are both mines for silver, zinc, and lead ore. Given the vast amount of space included in the National Heritage Area, the emissions per square mile would likely be unrepresentative of the true emissions burden of the pollution. In the past 15 years, waste releases have dropped significantly, from 25 million lbs in 2007 to 9 million lbs in 2018.
Toxic Release Inventory Program https://edap.epa.gov/public/extensions/TRISearchPlus/TRISearchPlus.html#map
As shown below in the Environmental Justice Screen map, most of the Lake Coeur d’Alene region is not vulnerable to fine particulate pollution.
Post Falls seems to have a higher amount of PM 2.5, maybe because of factories in the area or pollution blowing across the border from Spokane. Residents in Post Falls and western Coeur d’Alene may be a cluster of affected individuals. These year-round residents are poorer than the summer tourists, who flock towards lakefront properties where the air is cleaner. A larger concern in the Silver Valley area is the levels of lead in the area, as blocks are shaded red–the highest percentile exposure in the nation.
Environmental Justice Screen: https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen
Silver Valley & Lake Coeur d'Alene Watershed 