The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated Bradford Island a Superfund site on the National Priorities List, meaning the site will now have special priority for cleanup among locations across the country, according to a March 17 EPA news release.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bradford Island is part of the Bonneville Dam complex in the Columbia River operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Operations and waste disposal practices contaminated the land and river sediments neighboring the site with PCBs, toxic metals and other chemicals that may pose a health threat to people and wildlife in the area.
“The Columbia River Basin provides vital environmental, economic and social support to the Pacific Northwest,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said. “It’s especially critical for the seven Tribal Nations who rely on this area as traditional hunting and fishing grounds, some with treaty protected rights. For years, the Yakama Nation has advocated for the cleanup and restoration of this important ecological, cultural and economic resource. Today, I am proud to announce that EPA is officially adding Bradford Island as a Superfund Site on our National Priorities List, which will help accelerate the long overdue cleanup of this site.”
The Superfund status means the EPA will now have more of formal role in overseeing the Corps’ cleanup work.
Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Delano Saluskin said the timing couldn’t be better.
“Adding the Bradford Island Site to the Superfund list is a huge milestone,” he added. “However, contamination in resident fish at the site is alarmingly high even after two decades of work. Moving forward, cleanup should represent a 'gold standard' for working together to address the serious threat that this site poses to the natural resources and our community.”
The government’s decision to add the site to the Superfund National Priorities List comes after the Yakama Nation, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Washington Department of Ecology all submitted written requests calling for the change. In addition, similar requests were also made by community and environmental groups, including at least six tribes that expressed concerns about contamination at Bradford Island and impacts to natural and cultural resources.
