Columbia River Remediation & Restoration Phase III

The Columbia River Remediation & Restoration (CRRR) Phase III project builds upon the work completed in Phase I & II. During the CRRR – Phase I project, we inventoried, evaluated, and ranked contaminated sites along the

Columbia River using our screening criteria and methods which included prioritization criteria considering proximity of a contaminated site to critical salmon habitat, wildlife refuges, and Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (LCREP) restoration projects. Through these efforts, 68 priority sites were identified across the Lower, Middle and Upper Columbia River geographic area from the mouth of the river to Chief Joseph Dam, all within a half mile of the River’s banks and having indications of impacting Columbia River resources. Contaminants from these sites are being released to the Columbia River system through deposition, runoff, groundwater mixing, direct and indirect discharge, or a combination of them all. Once contaminants enter the aquatic environment, salmonids can experience sub-lethal or lethal effects. Specific work under CRRR – Phase II included focusing on a smaller subset of the 68 priority sites for immediate engagement. YN has had many success in Phase I and & II of the CRRR but there are still many contamination issues that remain in the Columbia River Basin. One of the major concerns identified is the lack of understanding of amount of contamination attributable to hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River mainstem and Lower Snake River.



This project (Phase III) continued the efforts of Phase I and II focused on contaminants behind dams in the mainstem Columbia River and Lower Snake River and the effect on fish. Project staff reviewed existing data, reports, and information pertaining to contamination in dam pools in the Columbia River mainstem and the Lower Snake River. This information was synthesized to provide a conceptual understanding, identify key data gaps, and outline the merits of conducting an environmental assessment at dams on the mainstem Columbia River and Lower Snake River.



Our work identified nearly 100 years of missing spill, operation, and waste disposal documentation. This missing documentation is during a time when the contamination from the dams was highest due to a lack of environmental regulation, reporting, and the understanding of the impacts to human and ecological health. The proximity of several of these dams to In-lieu/Treaty Fishing Access Sites, and the risk of contamination to water and sediment is also of concern due to the potential and unknown impacts to human health and Treaty Rights.



Our work was informed through coordination and collaboration with partners, stakeholders and affected citizens. The Project Team will continue to build on long standing coordination and collaboration efforts with other Tribes, federal, state, and local entities, state and county health authorities, NGOs, and other interested parties to continue existing partnerships and build new ones to identify and gather materials, gain knowledge on new and emerging science for recommendations of data gaps and solutions, and promote outreach and education with appropriate community groups. This initial work will be expanded upon to work towards a strategy to ensure that the federal government is held accountable for contaminant impacts from these dams.



Our work resulted in an Executive Summary providing a high-level summary of background information, methods, and recommendations for further investigations as well as 15 individual reports for each of the dams listed in the table above and shown on the overview map. The documents will be made available to the public on our Yakama Nation Fisheries Superfund Section webpage (https://yakamafish-nsn.gov/restore/projects/columbia-snake-rivers-dam-assess).

The goal is simple: protect and restore the Columbia River and its tributaries. The CRRR - Phase III project has the potential to benefit every salmonid stock in the Columbia River by building on the foundational work conducted to identify 68 priority sites in the Columbia River. This is an important step forward in contaminant reduction and will help address toxics as a limiting factor for some ESA listed stocks; reach goals for toxic reduction as laid out in the revised Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit and the Northwest Power Conservation Council Fish and Wildlife Program; and address the widespread contamination as identified in the 2009 EPA “Columbia River Basin: State of the River Report for Toxics” that describes the known issues with mercury, DDT, PCBs, and PBDE while outlining the lack of toxics reduction action on the river.