Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

EPA declares Upper Columbia River a Superfund site

The Teck Metals Ltd. smelter complex sits above the Columbia River in Trail, British Columbia. The smelter is blamed for releasing waste contaminated with heavy metals into the river where it washed downstream into Washington state.  (JESSE TINSLEY/The Spokesman-Review)

Federal officials on Friday declared portions of the Upper Columbia River a Superfund site after decades of studying, debating and litigating over the pollution that primarily washed downriver from Canada.

The designation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not include all 150 miles of Columbia River from the border to Grand Coulee Dam, EPA spokesman Bill Dunbar said. It means, however, that several sites along that stretch could require cleanup.

“The EPA is investigating pollution sites that exist from the Canadian border to Grand Coulee Dam. We are not saying the entire area is a Superfund site,” Dunbar said. “There likely will be several sites that we need to clean up within this larger area.”

The designation should not influence the thousands of residents, anglers and recreators who use Lake Roosevelt, he said.

“There shouldn’t be any impact on the people who use the river recreationally,” he said. “The water is not the concern. It’s the soils and, potentially, river sediments.”

The EPA has determined that soils within the site were contaminated with lead and arsenic, and pose an unacceptable risk to residents, particularly to children and women of childbearing age, said Casey Sixkiller, regional administrator of EPA’s Region 10 office in Seattle.

“Today is a major milestone in more than 20 years of work in the Upper Columbia that began in the early 2000s when the EPA began taking a closer look at legacy pollution by mining operations north of our border,” said Sixkiller, the son of star Washington quarterback Sonny Sixkiller.

Sediments along the river are contaminated with metals, including zinc, copper, cadmium, selenium, lead and mercury that pose a risk to fish, according to the EPA release.

“Throughout the last few decades, we’ve learned a lot about where exposures exist and pose a threat for both human health and the natural environment,” Sixkiller said.

The primary source of contamination, according to the EPA, is the Teck Metals Ltd. lead and zinc smelter in Trail, British Columbia, located about 10 river miles upstream of the international boundary. The former Le Roi smelter, which closed in 1921 in Northport, Washington, also contributed contamination.

Dunbar said the EPA has already designated some areas that require cleanup.

“They are mostly residential yards in and around the town of Northport where lead and arsenic levels are too high,” he said.

Otherwise, officials will begin testing sites along the corridor for action “to determine whether and how they need to be cleaned up.”

Sixkiller said the key with the Superfund designation is that it now frees up federal sources of funding to continue the cleanup efforts.

“We know we have 150 more residences to go,” he said. “By taking this action, we are making a commitment to see this cleanup through. We are unlocking resources to pay for that cleanup to occur and not leave this as an unaddressed risk, which it has been for decades.”

The river leading out of Canada has been a fierce topic of debate for decades by officials on both sides of the border.

“EPA’s decision to list the Upper Columbia River Site on the National Priorities List will strengthen and boost our collective efforts to address a legacy of contamination at the site,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in the news release. “By unlocking additional federal resources, this move will help ensure that this part of our state is home to a thriving economy and ecosystem for generations to come.”

The Colville Reservation borders more than half of the designated area of the river. Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson said the river is a valuable asset for the tribes and the region. He said access to the extra federal funds is badly needed to help with the restoration costs.

“The river has been used for decades as a waste disposal site, and that pollution not only damaged the physical river, but has also cost the tribes enormously in terms of lost use and enjoyment of the river,” Erickson said.

Past tribal leaders have worked to clean the sediments and have engaged in litigation for 20 years with Teck Resources to force it to take responsibility for the cleanup, he said.

“While that litigation continues, a Superfund listing will unlock access to funds necessary for a thorough remediation of the river, and the listing reflects the high priority for cleanup that this site deserves,” Erickson said. “Everyone is better served if we clean the river now rather than pass the problem on to future generations.”

Gregory Abrahamson, chairman of the Spokane Tribal Business Council, likewise applauded the EPA designation for an area that is part of the tribe’s traditional homeland “whose natural resources have been and continue to be integral to our subsistence and culture since time immemorial.”

In the news release, he said: “Historic and ongoing releases of hazardous substances to the site threaten or directly affect the health and welfare of our members, our economic security, and the Spokane Tribe’s political integrity.”

He said the Spokane Tribe first supported the EPA designation nearly 20 years ago.

“We remain acutely concerned that many more generations of the Spokane people must endure uncertainty about site conditions and risks due to the presence of hazardous substances,” he said.

“Assessing the nature and extent of such contamination and any associated risks it poses to tribal health and resources is as imperative today as it was in 2003.”

In 2006, the EPA and Teck Metals entered into a settlement agreement along with Teck American Inc. and the U.S. Department of Justice to complete studies that establish the nature and extent of contamination.

Although Teck is funding the studies, the agreement does not require Teck to complete a comprehensive cleanup of the site.

Teck spokesman Dale Steeves said in an email that the company has spent more than $190 million conducting extensive studies under the direction of the EPA over the last 18 years. He noted that the Trail Operations facility provides critical minerals, such as zinc and germanium, to about 100 U.S. customers.

“To date, those studies indicate that the water is clean and the fish are as safe to eat as other fish in the Pacific Northwest,” Steeves wrote.

The problems, however, center on soil deposits, the EPA officials said. The Superfund designation now frees federal dollars to help pay for the cleanup as federal officials continue dialogue about paying its portion, Sixkiller said.

“How the next administration decides to tackle that and how they engage with Teck will be up to them,” he said. “As an agency, our policy has always been that polluters pay.”

Sixkiller said Friday was a milestone, but much more work is needed.

“The action we are taking today is for folks who live and recreate in the Upper Columbia,” he said. “We are now in the Superfund process, which is a well-tested, transparent way to address the issue. The EPA will take all the information we have, and others have gathered and put it into a comprehensive cleanup plan.”