Our Sustainable Northwest

A Wet June Helps Idaho Fish Down the River

(Flickr photograph by oregon ducatisti)

COEUR D'ALENE, ID - Most of the Northwest has had normal or drier than usual weather this spring. But some of the traditionally driest areas have experienced one of their wettest Junes in years. Some areas of southern Idaho and eastern Oregon have had three or four times the normal rainfall. That’s good news for salmon. Inland Northwest Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

WA DOE Proposes Lake Pend Orielle Drawdown for Spokane Aquifer

Washington's DOE is looking for a way to put more water into the Spokane Aquifer during the dry summer months. Researchers will study whether Washington could pipe water from Idaho's Lake Pend Orielle and inject it into the region's main source of drinking water. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports that it’s not clear whether Idaho will go for the idea.

(click on map to enlarge - courtesy of the US Geological Society)

This is a transcription of a radio report from the Northwest News Network.
Listen to the audio here.

SPOKANE - In the late summer, the flow of water in the Spokane River west of the Idaho state line slows to a trickle. That’s bad for the fish, of course, but it’s also not very pretty for the tourists.

              

So Ecology will hire Washington State University researchers to study how to get more water into the river in August and September. Ecology’s idea is to pump water from picturesque Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho.

 

The spring runoff would be injected into the Spokane aquifer in hopes that the water would eventually trickle down. Even if the scientists can make such a plan work, Washington hydrogeologist John Covert acknowledges tension between the two states about water issues could make the project a pipe dream.

 

John Covert: We’d have to figure out is the political will there and the financial resources and everything else to make it a reality.

 

An Idaho state water official says it’s too early to say how people on his side of the border will react to Washington’s study.

 

I’m Doug Nadvornick in Coeur d’Alene.

 

Links:

Northwest News Network

report audio

DOE's site on the Spokane Basin

 

Copyright 2009 Spokane Public Radio

               

Urban Waters Initiative Prevents Pollution in the Spokane River

By: Stephanie Teien

 

Image: the Spokane River at Millwood by Sagebrush Photography.

The Spokane River contains the highest amount of flame retardant pollution in Washington state.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently found dangerous levels of PBDEs in the river's fish.  These chemicals are linked to nervous system damage and developmental problems in animals.

Flame retardants bioaccumulate through the food chain and have been discovered in the tissue of people throughout the U.S. These chemicals are in many manufactured items including carpet, mattresses, clothes, and electronics. No definitive medical conclusions about effects on humans have been made, but PBDEs were officially banned throughout Washington in January 2009.    

Now experts are looking for the source of these and many other contaminants in the Spokane River.  In 2007, Washington's state legislature funded a $2.1 million program called the Urban Waters Initiative to monitor pollution in the Spokane River, Commencement Bay, and the Duwamish River.

The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) and the Spokane Regional Health District began sending inspectors out in July 2008 to look for sources of contaminants in the river.

Cathy Cochrane, the communications manager for the Washington DOE eastern region office, said resource specialists target small businesses such as service stations and auto repair shops to teach them how to store and contain chemical waste so it won't escape into the river.

"Larger businesses are already inspected and have to report to Ecology about how much [toxic waste] they produce," she said.  "We want to inspect small businesses on a continuing basis and consult with them about how to properly store chemicals." 

Program inspectors sample water in sewer and stormwater drains to locate where the pollution is coming from.  Manufacturing plants and steel mills are a well-known contributor, but experts want to prevent the continuing escape of contaminants carried into the river from other places that may have been overlooked. 

The main pollutants inspectors are looking for are PBDEs, PCBs, dioxins, furans, and heavy metals.  The EPA named these chemicals among the main priorities for reduction along the Columbia River Basin.

Cochrane said there are no definitive results from the Spokane River research yet, but she believes progress is being made. 

"It's an educational campaign where we want to work together to figure out ways to trace [pollution] down," she said.  "I think people want to do the right thing, they just have to make the connection between their drain and the river."  

The Urban Waters research team's results are expected within the year.

LINKS:

To read about the Urban Waters Initiative program go to: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0709044.html 

For more information about PBDEs visit: http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/polybrominated-diphenyl-ether-or-pbdes-areflame-retardants-used-in-many-products-including-computers-furniture-electronic.html

PCBs: http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/polychlorinated-biphenyls.html

Dioxins and Furans: http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/2009/02/dioxins-and-furans.html

Heavy Metals:

http://nwpublicmedia.typepad.com/our_northwest_water/arsenic-an-odorless-tasteless-semi-metalelement-used-in-agricultural-and-industrial-processes-and-enters-environment-throu.html

 

Toxic PBDE Flame Retardants Banned

By: Stephanie Teien

The Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) issued a news release January 21, 2009 stating PBDE flame retardants will be banned statewide.  Three forms of PBDEs have been used for decades in a variety of household products, electronics, furniture, and vehicles.

PBDEs are classified as a possible carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency.  The chemicals bind to fatty tissue and increase exponentially over time.  Animal studies have linked PBDEs to hormonal and nervous system damage as well as cancer and behavioral disorders.    

Fire safety experts found safer alternatives for this wide-spread chemical, which has been measured at high levels in Washington waterways.  

DOE Toxics Reduction Coordinator Carol Kraege said the process to ban PBDEs began in 2003 through a series of ecology reports sent to Legislature.

"It's been a lot of work," she said.  "There was always a desire to have some rules in place, but there was a safety aspect that meant we were not in a position to recommend a full ban without a prospective plan."

Kraege said the law to phase out PBDEs was passed in 2007, but the DOE had to find alternative flame retardants they could prove were safer and just as effective before it could be implemented fully.

"We couldn't recommend something where the end result would be worse," she said. 

Five Washington fire safety experts formed a Fire Safety Committee on November 7, 2008.  They approved flame retardant alternatives meeting state fire safety standards.

Kraege said there is a two-year window for incorporating the law completely.  The manufacturing, sale, and distribution of products containing PBDEs will be prohibited by January 2011. 

The law applies mainly to Deca-BDE flame retardants because Octa-BDEs and Penta-BDEs have been out of production since 2004.

"We're not telling people they have to use the alternatives we found, but mattresses and other products can no longer be made with Deca-BDE," she said.   

According to the DOE, people in North America have the highest PBDE levels in their system than anywhere in the world.  The chemicals have been measured in the blood, fat tissue and breast milk of humans.  Recent studies indicate these levels increased dramatically throughout the ecosystem, doubling every five years.

While no conclusive studies on PBDEs in people have been administered, they have been shown to cause progressive brain and developmental damage in animals. 

To view the entire House Bill visit: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1024-S.PL.pdf

PBDE Chemical Action Plan website: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/pbt/pbde.html

  

DOH Warns Fish Eaters about High Mercury and PBDE Levels

 

By: Stephanie Teien

This January (2009), Washington Department of Health (DOH) updated their fish consumption advisories after high contaminant levels in the Columbia River Basin were reported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  People are warned to limit their intake of certain seafood due to high levels of mercury, DDT (from pesticides), PCBs (prevalent in industrial chemicals) and PBDEs (flame retardants).

This clickable map is from the EPA.

    

A statewide bass advisory has been in effect since September 2003 because of increasing mercury concentrations.  The DOH is advising all Washington residents to limit their bass consumption to two meals per month.    

Regional advisories for various types of fish and pollutants include the Puget Sound, the Spokane River, Lake Whatcom and the Lower Columbia River. 

EPA Reports Dangerous Toxin Levels in Columbia River Basin

By: Stephanie Teien

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report Jan. 15 outlining dangerous levels of toxic contaminants found in the Columbia River Basin. 

The 65-page EPA report identified four main pollutants prevalent throughout the Basin that could pose serious health risks to people, fish and wildlife. 

The contaminants include:

• Mercury - Element found at increasing levels in fish and wildlife.  May cause irreversible damage to the nervous systems of people and animals.
• Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) - A pesticide banned in the U.S. in 1972.  Most entered the Basin from agricultural runoff and its chemical compound remains active for decades.  Known to cause reproductive and development problems in fish, birds and other animals.
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) - A group of chemicals formerly used in industrial equipment.  Banned by the EPA in 1979 after proving to have a carcinogenic effect on people and wildlife.
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) - A flame retardant in many products including vehicles, electronics and plastic items.  Linked to neurological and reproductive problems in mammals. 

Mary Lou Soscia, the EPA's Columbia River cleanup coordinator in Portland, said these four contaminants are among many dangerous toxics found in the Basin. 

"There are lots of contaminants like lead and phosphorous present," she said.  "We couldn't take them all on in one report.  The four described are representative of other contaminants in the Basin that are a threat to human health and aquatic life."

Other pollutants mentioned in the report include metals such as arsenic, current-use pesticides and industrial chemicals.  "Emerging contaminants" include pharmaceuticals and other personal care products entering the water supply.

The report explains how toxic chemicals build up in organisms and never metabolize.  Contaminants passed through the food web accumulate at increasing levels.  Fish-eating birds and mammals acquire much higher concentrations than species lower on the food web through a process called biomagnification.

State health departments have issued fish consumption advisories for areas throughout the Basin.

Soscia said the advisories are for different types of fish and contaminants, but most are to limit exposure to mercury. 

"What we want to do is make the ecosystem healthier for everyone living there, whether they be fish, animals or people," she said.  "Obviously, we want to reduce the number of advisories by working collaboratively."

Soscia said many groups and individuals are looking for ways to reduce contamination levels, but there is always more that can be done. 

The Basin extends about 259,000 miles through seven U.S. states and into British Columbia, Canada.  The EPA report estimated approximately 8 million people live around it and depend on its resources. 

"Reducing toxics in the Basin will require a comprehensive, coordinated effort by all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the public," the report stated. 

To read the complete EPA report visit: www.epa.gov/region10/columbia/sorr.html

For up-to-date information on the health and current clean-up efforts, visit the EPA's Columbia River Basin website: http://www.epa.gov/region10/columbia

  

For more information about fish consumption advisories in Washington go to: http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/fish/

In Oregon: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/envtox/fishconsumption.html

In Idaho: http://www.Idahohealth.org

In Montana: www.dphhs.mt.gov/fish2005.pdf

          

  

  

 

 

 

 

Dialogue Discusses Water Resources

Host of Idaho Public Television's Dialogue, Joan Cartan-Hansen talks with David Tuthill, the Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources. Tuthill wants to investigate changes in how and where we store water and will discuss recent decisions in the Swan Falls settlement and the North Idaho adjudication.

View this program online.

The Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer - A Talk by Professor Ralston of the U of I

				Episode 316
	46:29 min.
	Overview and Research on the Spokane Valley – Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer
	by Dale R. Ralston, Professor Emeritus of Hydrogeology, University of Idaho
	As the title implies, in this talk, professor of hydrogeology and groundwater consultant Dr. Dale Ralston presents research data on the uses and condition of the Spokane-Valley – Rathdrum-Prairie aquifer, situated along the border of the Washington - Idaho state line and managed by both states. Political and economic events that have affected the aquifer are noted as is its integral relationship to the lakes and rivers around it.

November/December Our Northwest Feature: The Columbia Plateau

The Columbia Plateau is the major agricultural region of the interior Columbia River Basin and includes the cities of Ellensburg, Wenatchee, Yakima, Moses Lake, Walla Walla, Pullman, and the Tri-Cities of Washington (Pasco, Kennewick, Richland); Pendleton, Umatilla, and The Dalles, Oregon; and Moscow and Lewiston, Idaho.

The expandable map you see is from The United States Geological Survey (USGS).

 

 

New Management Takes Over at Hanford Tank Farms

Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2008 RICHLAND, WA - At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington, 53 million gallons of radioactive goo are stored in unstable underground tanks near the Columbia River. This week, a new government contractor is taking over the job of managing that waste. Anna King explains. A federal contractor called CH2M Hill is handing over its duties at Hanford to a new company: Washington River Protection Solutions. The federal government praised CH2M Hill for its nine years of managing waste in what’s called a tank farm. But the contractor was responsible for a major leak of radioactive goo a year and a half ago. Carrie Meyer is a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Energy. She says keeping an eye on the Cold War era waste is a big job. Meyer: We will be putting a closer focus on work that is transitioning to insure that things are going as planned. In the switch between contractors, top managers will change, but most of the workers and many of the policies will stay the same. Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio Listen