Huge Win for Clean Water

EPA Announces New Superfund Listing on Columbia River near Bonneville Dam

BREAKING: Huge Win for Clean Water, EPA Listing New Superfund Cleanup Site on Columbia

In a huge win for Columbia River Tribes and all people that rely on a clean Columbia, today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to list the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam and Bradford Island on the nation’s Superfund List.

You helped secure this hard-fought victory for clean water and people that rely on safe fish.

Despite the U.S. Army Corps’ resistance to Superfund listing, EPA is holding the federal agency accountable for decades of dumping toxic waste and languishing cleanup.

EPA’s decision is a game changer. Superfund listing will kickstart a cleanup of this forgotten waste dump. We applaud the Biden administration and EPA for standing up for the people harmed by toxic waste.

Why this victory matters
  • For over a decade, Yakama Nation led the fight to clean up Bradford Island. The island and surrounding waters are a historical Tribal fishing area for multiple Tribes. 
  • Today, Tribal people and diverse communities use the area for subsistence and recreational fishing, despite advisories warning not to eat resident fish such as bass and sturgeon. 
  • In fact, resident fish caught near the island contain the highest levels of cancer-causing PCBs in the Northwest. The Oregon Health Authority and Washington Dept. of Health issued fish advisories warning people not to eat resident fish caught near Bradford Island.
What happens next
  • Every year, EPA selects new sites for the nation’s “worst-of-the-worst” Superfund List. Through a listing, EPA opens the gates to additional funding, heightened scrutiny, and tighter legal controls to reduce threats to public health and the environment. 
  • Now that EPA has proposed a Superfund listing, the decision will proceed through a rulemaking process in 2021, which will include an opportunity for public comment, and an ultimate listing decision by EPA in 2022. 
Get inspired

Check out our recent webinar featuring Yakama Nation scientist Laura Shira and cultural leader and Government Affairs Liaison Davis “Yellowash” Washines. Prefer reading? Our website has a treasure trove of fact sheets and documents on the campaign to clean up Bradford Island. 

Thank you for fighting for a clean Columbia. Today’s cleanup decision would not have happened without public pressure from people like you.

Karina Sahlin, Communications Coordinator, shares the news: 

Ubaldo Hernández, Senior Organizer, habla la noticia en espanol:  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EPA Announces New Superfund Listing on Columbia River near Bonneville Dam

Despite the U.S. Army Corps’ Resistance to Superfund Listing, Biden Administration Holding Federal Agency Accountable for Languishing Cleanup

September 8, 2021 (Bonneville, WA)—Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to add a large section of the Columbia River and Bradford Island, located near Bonneville Dam, to the nation’s toxic cleanup program, the Superfund List.

“This is a game changer. Superfund listing will kickstart a cleanup of this forgotten waste dump. We applaud the Biden administration and EPA for standing up for the people harmed by toxic waste,” said Lauren Goldberg, legal and program director with Columbia Riverkeeper.

For over 40 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) dumped toxic pollution in and along the Columbia River at Bradford Island. EPA’s Superfund-listing announcement comes on the heels of request by Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici to end to the stalled-out cleanup on the Columbia River. In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Members of Congress expressed “strong support” for Superfund listing. 

"The timing is critical. Adding the Bradford Island site to the national Superfund list will add structure and an enforceable schedule with milestones which are desperately needed," said Rose Longoria, regional Superfund project manager with Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (Yakama Nation). 

Bradford Island and surrounding waters are a historical Tribal fishing area. Today, Tribal people and diverse communities use the area for subsistence and recreational fishing, despite advisories warning not to eat resident fish such as bass and sturgeon. In fact, resident fish caught near the island contain the highest levels of cancer-causing PCBs in the Northwest. The Oregon Health Authority and Washington Department of Health issued fish advisories warning people not to eat resident fish caught near Bradford Island.

Every year, EPA selects new sites for the nation’s “worst-of-the-worst” Superfund List and, through a listing, opens the gates to additional funding, heightened scrutiny, and tighter legal controls to reduce threats to public health and the environment. 

Now that EPA has approved a Superfund listing, the decision will proceed through a rulemaking process in 2021, which will include an opportunity for public comment, and an ultimate listing decision by EPA in 2022. 

Earlier this year Yakama Nation, the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality, and the Washington Dept. of Ecology reaffirmed a 2019 request for EPA to add Bradford Island and surrounding waters to the Superfund list based on years of stalled and inadequate cleanup by the Corps.

Despite the significant contamination, under the Trump administration, the Corps slashed funding for Bradford Island cleanup. In August 2020, EPA failed to nominate the site for Superfund listing. 

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About the Issue

People rely on clean water and toxic-free fish. That’s why Columbia Riverkeeper uses the law and grassroots organizing to advocate for cleanup at polluted sites.