Last day to Comment on Superfund Proposal

Your comment matters!

Today is the last day to comment on the proposed Superfund designation for the Upper Columbia River, aka Lake Roosevelt. Below is the comment that I made today. If you have not yet made a comment against this proposal, please make one TODAY at this link: https://bit.ly/4attNZp

Your comment matters, as only 33 have been submitted on this proposal as of May 5th, 2024.

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Comment by Nancy Churchill
I oppose the proposed rule to create a superfund site for the Upper Columbia River for the following reasons:

1) The impact and feasibility studies mandated in the 2006 agreement with Teck have not yet been completed. Without this missing information we don't have the scientific data needed to support the designation, to support the enormous scope of the designation, or to support any actions. 

2) Lead levels in the Stevens County Uplands area were not high enough to support the designation. So the EPA changed the levels downward to match the data. There are NO blood test results on the children living in the uplands to support a designation at this time. Do the science first, then make a determination.

3) The water in Lake Roosevelt meets drinking water standards... hardly an environmental catastrophe. The fish, other than the bottom feeders, are safe to eat.

4) There IS heavy metal pollution in the river bottom. Fortunately, it is being buried deeper and deeper in sedimentation every year. Divers report that the best solution is to leave the river alone and allow the process of 'natural remediation' to continue. Locals are concerned that stirring up the river bed would increase the levels of heavy metals in the river flow.

5) The scope of the proposed Superfund is too large. This will allow a great deal of corruption, graft, and wasted resources. Be specific and narrowly focused.

6) The input of local elected officials (county commissioners, state legislators, and US. Representatives) has been ignored. The EPA is cherry picking input from one side of the political aisle, making it obvious that the rush to approve the Superfund is politically motivated.  Don't you think that the LOCAL officials, closest to the people, would be screaming from the rooftops if they were concerned about a pollution hazard in the upper Columbia River? Has there been past pollution? Yes. Does it reach the level of need for a Superfund? No. 

7) Irrigation, Farming, and Recreation. Our local economies in Eastern Washington depend on Lake Roosevelt for irrigation, Farming, and Recreation Tourism.  All of these important local economic drivers would be negatively impacted by the unnecessary Superfund designation. Again, this blatant attempt to damage the local economies in Eastern Washington and farming exports appears to be politically motivated rather than a genuine attempt to solve a problem. 

In conclusion, this proposal does not meet a documented need, but it does create many problems for local residents and for the local economy. I strongly oppose the Superfund designation at this time, and urge the EPA to postpone a decision until all of the studies have been completed. Thank you. 

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Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington State, and the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on thinkspot, Rumble and Substack.

Sources

1) Make a comment on the Proposed UCR Superfund: https://bit.ly/4attNZp

2) 2006 Settlement w/ Teck American: https://bit.ly/3Vnhrhk

3) Eastern Washington Council of Governments, Letter to EPA, 01/16/2024, https://bit.ly/3W9XnPT

4) DR Human Health Risk Assessment: https://bit.ly/4cDamiH

5) EPA Fact Sheet: https://bit.ly/3Pp3cF2

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