Columbia River Remediation and Restoration - Phase I

The Columbia River Remediation and Restoration (CRRR) – Phase I project utilized ongoing research to identify, evaluate and rank contaminated sites within one-­-half mile of the river banks that maybe impacting aquatic resources in the Columbia River Basin, specifically salmonids listed under the Endangered Species Act and the designated Critical Habitat that they rely upon for their survival.

A master database of sites was developed and includes 114,000 hazardous wastes sites within the Columbia River Basin drainage for the states of Washington and Oregon. Focusing the evaluation within one-­-half mile of the Columbia River banks reduces the number of sites to 766 wastes sites. All 766 sites within one-­-half mile of the river banks were screened using Yakama Nation-­-derived criteria for such things as contaminants of concern, habitat evaluation, proximity to environmentally sensitive areas, former and current site uses, and other agency ranking criteria or assessment scores. Using these criteria, a subset of sites on the Oregon State-­- and Washington State-­-sides of the Columbia River were extracted from the master database and identified as priority sites for further prioritization and in-­-depth research.

The priority sites were binned into three general spatial extents: Lower-­-, Mid-­-, and Upper-­-Columbia River. Specifically, the Lower-­-Columbia River (LCR) region consisted of those areas south of Bonneville Dam to the mouth. The Mid-­-Columbia River (MCR) region covers the area south of Grand Coulee Dam to Bonneville Dam. Finally, the Upper Columbia River (UCR) region extends from the U.S.-­-Canadian border, south to Grand Coulee Dam.

Priority sites were identified, based on the evaluation and criteria discussed above, to ensure cleanup decisions afford adequate protection to the environment and tribal health. Adequate cleanup and protection of these sites will be accomplished by working with federal and state agencies to conduct site investigations that fully consider tribal specific risks posed by site contamination.

The CRRR – Phase I project focused on the LCR and MCR. Priority sites in the LCR are included in Figure 1 and Figure 2. The MCR priority sites are shown in Figure 3 of the attached report. All three figures are provided as attachments to this final report. Additionally, an interactive map with specific site information is available at
http://yakamafish-nsn.gov/restore/projects/yakama-­nation-­brownfields-­project.

The Columbia River Remediation and Restoration (CRRR) Phase I project focuses on the main stem of the Columbia River from the mouth of the river to the Canadian border. Major tributaries such as the Willamette River, Wind River Subbasin, White Salmon River Subbasin, Klickitat River Subbasin, Rock Creek, Yakima River Subbasin, Lower Snake River Subbasin, Wenatchee River Subbasin, Entiat River Subbasin, Chelan River Subbasin, and Methow River Subbasin are included in the areas of interest for this project.

The CRRR – Phase I project has the potential to benefit every salmonid stock in the Columbia River.Research conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Columbia River Basin: State of the River Report for Toxics” describes the known issues with mercury, DDT, PCBs, and PBDE while outlining the lack of toxics reduction action on the river. The CRRR– Phase I project consolidated state and federal databases of contaminated sites and prioritized these sites to determine the sites that are of the greatest concern to salmonids. As the sites are prioritized efforts to engage federal and state as well as responsible parties are necessary to ensure cleanups at these sites are protective and reduce the amount of injury to salmonids and other aquatic resources in the Columbia River Basin.

The goal is simple: protect and restore the Columbia River, its tributaries and its resources. The direct benefits of site remediation are the reduction of hazardous substances in the Columbia River, reduced risks to human health and the environment, and improvements to the habitat needed for sustaining a productive and diverse aquatic system