4.1. SEWAGE DISPOSAL: Boundary County is served primarily by individual septic systems managed through permits issued by Panhandle Health, and a limited number of county residents are served by the City of Bonners Ferry Water and Sewer System.
4.2. DRAINAGE: Boundary County currently does not have a storm water ordinance and there are no storm sewers in place within county jurisdiction.
4.3. POWER PLANT SITES: The City of Bonners Ferry maintains and operates the Moyie Hydroelectric Dam on the Moyie River just upstream from the Moyie River Bridge, which provides electricity for the City of Bonners Ferry and areas between Bonners Ferry and Moyie Springs. Smith Creek Hydro, located on Smith Creek in northern Boundary County, is owned by the Eugene Water and Electrical Board, Eugene, Oregon, and generates electricity for that city.
4.4. UTILITY TRANSMISSION CORRIDORS AND UTILITY COMPANIES:
4.4.1. Electricity: Northern Lights power lines provide power to most areas of Boundary County where electricity is available except those areas served by the City of Bonners Ferry. Substations are located on parcels RP62N01E116740 and RP64N01E173100. The Bonneville Power Administration maintains a substation in Section 35, Township 62 North, Range One East, and also maintains overhead transmission lines in Boundary County.
4.4.2. Gas: Gas Transmission NW Corp. maintains a major gas transmission pipeline extending north and south through Boundary County, entering the county near Elmira, traverses north to pass to the west of Moyie Springs, then to Eastport generally following the Moyie River. A gas substation is located just south of Eastport.
4.4.3. Other services: Telephone service in Boundary County is provided where available by Verizon. A number of Internet Service Providers provide internet connectivity via phone modem, transmission tower, or satellite, and limited DSL service is available, mainly within the City of Bonners Ferry. Television and radio are available by rebroadcast from a translator on Black Mountain managed by a Translator Board appointed by Boundary County Commissioners.
4.5. COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLIES: A full list of all community water supplies within Boundary County is available at Appendix VI.
4.6. FIRE STATIONS AND FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT: There are seven fire departments in Boundary County; five of them volunteer fire associations and two tax-supported volunteer fire departments or districts. Fire suppression arms of the United States Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Lands also serve Boundary County with responsibility for fire suppression on public lands. Nearly all agencies operate under mutual-aid agreements, not only with each other but with fire suppression agencies in southern British Columbia and Lincoln County, Montana. Fire protection in Boundary County is provided primarily by the following entities:
4.6.1. City of Bonners Volunteer Ferry Fire Department: A tax-supported department serving approximately 2,502 citizens within the incorporated city limits of Bonners Ferry. Base of operations is the main fire hall (Station 1) in downtown Bonners Ferry, 7137 First Street, and a second station, Station 2, is located at 6316 McCall Street The Bonners Ferry Volunteer Fire Department currently maintains three structure engines, a brush truck, a personnel transport vehicle, one support unit and the fire chief’s vehicle. At present, there are no plans for expansion.
4.6.2. Curley Creek Volunteer Fire Association: A membership-supported association serving about 800 people covering a district approximately 47-square miles in size in eastern Boundary County, bounded on the south by the Kootenai River, the Moyie River to the west and the Montana/Idaho state line to the east. Curley Creek operates out of two existing fire stations, one on County Road 77 (Silver Springs Road, near milepost 75 on Highway 2, and the second on County Road 72D (Firehouse Road) on Old Highway 2. The association operates two pumpers, 1 wildlands truck and three water tenders. Land has been acquired for a new fire hall to be built near County Road 72 (Old Highway 2 Loop) and Evergreen School.
4.6.3. Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire Association, Inc.: A membership-supported department serving about 1,200 citizens in a district of approximately 144,000 acres in north Boundary County, beginning at milepost 519 on U.S. 95 north to the Canadian border at Eastport and Porthill, bound on the west by Westside Road from Rock Creek and on the east on Meadow Creek Road from the Twin Bridges. Hall Mountain operates out of three existing fire halls; Hall #1 at the intersection of Highway 1 and Porthill Loop Road (formerly County Road 51); Hall #2 at the junction of Highway 1 and U.S. 95; and Hall #3 near milepost 535 on U.S. 95. The association currently operates and maintains four pumpers, two wildlands units, one tanker and one support vehicles. Expansion plans at present call for building a new fire hall to replace Hall #3.
4.6.4. Moyie Springs Volunteer Fire Department: The Moyie Springs Volunteer Fire Department is a tax-supported department serving the 643 residents living within the incorporated City of Moyie Springs, with its fire hall located inside the city. The department operates one tanker, one pumper, one brush truck and one command vehicle, and no plans are currently underway for expansion.
4.6.5. North Bench Volunteer Fire Association: A membership-supported fire association serving about 2,000 citizens in a district covering approximately 32,000 acres from U.S. 95 at Rock Creek west to the Kootenai River, south to the Kootenai Tribal Mission and along to the north boundary of the City of Bonners Ferry and east along the District 2 Road to the Moyie River Bridge. The North Bench Fire Association maintains three stations; one on Highway 2 at Three Mile Junction; one on U.S. 95 at Camp Nine Road; and one at the Kootenai Tribal Mission. The association currently operates three water tenders, three structure engines, one brush truck and one support vehicle. There are no current plans for expansion.
4.6.6. Paradise Valley Volunteer Fire Association: The Paradise Valley Volunteer Fire Association is a membership-supported operation covering about 6,400 acres in the Paradise Valley and Cow Creek areas, with boundaries bordered by the coverage areas of the City of Bonners Ferry and the South Boundary Fire Protection District. The association operates two brush trucks, two structure trucks, five pumpers, one aerial truck and one command vehicle, operating from four existing fire halls. Two additional fire halls are currently under construction.
4.6.7. South Boundary Fire Protection District: A tax-supported fire protection district serving about 2,000 citizens in south Boundary County and covering approximately 32,000 acres extending north from the Bonner/Boundary County line to Cabinet Mountain Road, west to Snow Creek and east to milepost 500 on U.S. 95. The main base of operations is the Naples Fire Hall in Naples and a second station is maintained at Deep Creek, with plans currently underway to build a third station on McArthur Lake Road near Fall Creek. The district currently maintains two wildland engines, two water tenders, two pumper trucks and one support vehicle.
4.6.8. Kootenai Valley Forest Protective District: An Idaho Department of Lands district serving about 9,000 residents covering the Kootenai Valley floor from Snow Creek north along the West Side Road to the Canadian border. The district maintains two wildland engines, and has air fire patrol, helicopters and air tankers available by contract. Manpower and additional equipment available by contract with local and surrounding departments. There are no current plans for expansion.
4.6.9. United States Forest Service/Bonners Ferry: Responsible for fire suppression on National Forest Lands from the east side of Priest Lake east to the Montana border and from the Bonner/Boundary County line to the Canadian Border. Maintains four wildland engines with air fire patrol, helicopters and air tankers available by contract. Manpower and additional firefighting equipment available by contract with local and surrounding departments. There are no current expansions planned.
4.7. HEALTH AND WELFARE FACILITIES:
4.7.1. Boundary County Community Hospital, Bonners Ferry.
4.7.2. Boundary Regional Community Health Center, Bonners Ferry
4.7.3. Panhandle Health, Bonners Ferry.
4.7.4. Boundary Community Restorium, Bonners Ferry.
4.7.5. Kootenai Tribal Clinic, Kootenai Tribal Headquarters.
4.8. LIBRARIES: Boundary County is served by the Boundary County Library, 6370 Kootenai Street, Bonners Ferry, recipient of the 2002 National Award for Museum and Library Service from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, an honor bestowed on Board Chairman Jim Marx and Library Director Sandy Ashworth by First Lady Laura Bush. The library was founded in 1913 by a newly established readers’ club. Members of the organization donated their own books, which were made available to community residents wherever space could be found – from a store, a hotel and a drugstore. In 1930, the volunteer-operated library was granted space in Bonners Ferry City Hall. Boundary County residents’ growing need for expanded library resources and services led to a county-wide vote to establish Idaho’s first county library district in 1956. On January 1, 1958, the members of the local readers’ club turned the library’s operation and resources over to the library’s first official board of trustees. Increasing use of the library and its increasing resources necessitated a move to larger quarters at street level in 1956. Library trustees continued to search for a suitable building site for the new library and property adjacent to the mini-park in downtown Bonners Ferry was purchased in 1973. A new, 8,000-square-foot library building opened for public use August 17, 1974. The library district provided space for the Boundary County Museum in its new building until a 70-percent increase in usage required further expansion of the library in January, 1986. The museum moved to Main Street and a children’s library was opened in the remodeled space vacated by the museum. The Boundary County District Library’s mission is to inform, educate and culturally enrich the entire community it serves by providing a broad range of library resources and services. In accordance with this mission, the library provides a wide range of media for county residents of all ages, including books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets and mixed media. It has one of the largest children’s collections in Idaho. Its online resources provide residents with access to the world’s largest interlibrary loan network (with over 1-billion resources) and information databases through LiLi, the Libraries Linking Idaho Network, which was established by the Idaho State Library with federal and state funding. The library utilizes a broad range of local, regional and statewide partnerships and collaborations to expand access to information and other resources for the homebound, residents of assisted care facilities, adults with low literary skills, preschoolers and their families, homeschoolers and the county’s growing ESL (English as a Second Language) population. The library also makes space available for public meetings on a limited basis. Library users made 84,711 visits in fiscal year 2005-2006. The library’s 11,052 cardholders checked out 118,583 items.
4.9. SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL: Solid waste disposal and recycling programs within Boundary County are designed for efficiency, with a central landfill operating under a small community exemption of Federal Subtitle D Regulations. The landfill has an estimated life expectancy of 10 to 12 years at the current rate of filling. When the landfill is full, the county will likely have to collect solid waste at transfer sites and transport the waste to an approved site somewhere outside the county, or even out of state, at considerable expense to Boundary County taxpayers. With few exceptions, there is currently no fee for solid waste disposal in Boundary County in addition to the annual residential landfill fee. Disposal of solid waste is regulated by Boundary County Ordinance 96-04. The average American generates more than 1,000 pounds of solid waste each year, and approximately 2.5 tons of solid waste is generated when a new house is built. Disposal and recycling sites in the county for solid waste are:
4.9.1. The Boundary County Landfill is located on Hillcrest Road. It is 18.1 acres in size and receives approximately 17 tons of solid waste per day, serving the entire population of Boundary County. The landfill is a manned site, open from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily except for nationally recognized holidays, collecting normal household waste, construction waste and hazardous materials.
4.9.2. An attended one-acre transfer station and recycling area for normal household waste is located in Naples.
4.9.3. An attended one-acre transfer station and recycling area for normal household waste is located on Kootenai Trail Road in Paradise Valley.
4.9.4. Work is underway to establish a manned site at the north end of the county for recycling and to prevent misuse of sites.
4.9.5. Approximately 50 rural dumpsters, each holding approximately 10 yards of solid waste, are maintained for normal household waste at 17 sites throughout Boundary County. Sites at Naples and Paradise Valley receive the greatest volume of any of the 17 sites.
4.9.6. Work is underway to save money for a future projected transfer station system and the equipment to accept, process and remove waste as would be required in the management of such a transfer station system.
4.10. PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
4.10.1. Bonners Ferry High School, Bonners Ferry, grades 9-12, county-wide.
4.10.2. Riverside High School, Bonners Ferry, alternative 9-12, county-wide.
4.10.3. Boundary County Middle School, Bonners Ferry, grades 6-8, county-wide.
4.10.4. Valley View Elementary, grades K-5, Bonners Ferry.
4.10.5. Naples Elementary, grades K-5, south Boundary County.
4.10.6. Evergreen Elementary, grades K-5, eastern Boundary County.
4.10.7. Mt. Hall Elementary, grades K-6, north Boundary County.
4.11. PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES AND RELATED SERVICES:
4.11.1. Boundary County Sheriffs Office and detention facility, 6438 Kootenai St., Bonners Ferry.
4.11.2. Boundary Search and Dive Rescue, 6821 Riverside, Bonners Ferry.
4.11.3. Bonners Ferry Police Department, 7232 Main, Bonners Ferry.
4.11.4. Panhandle National Forest Ranger Station, U.S. Forest Service, 6286 Main, Bonners Ferry.
4.11.5. United States Border Patrol/Department of Homeland Security, 7167 First St., Bonners Ferry. Maintains Ports of Entry at Eastport and Port Hill. Currently planning to add additional facilities.
4.12. PUBLIC BUILDINGS:
4.12.1. Boundary County Courthouse, 6452 Kootenai St., Bonners Ferry.
4.12.2. University of Idaho Extension Office, 6447 Kootenai St., Bonners Ferry.
4.12.3. National Guard Armory, 6566 Main St., Bonners Ferry.
4.12.4. Bonners Ferry City Hall, 7232 Main St., Bonners Ferry.