Columbia Riverkeeper

Columbia Riverkeeper's mission is to restore and protect the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.

Spirit of the River- Hood River

CRK is proud to be hosting our 2nd Annual Spirit of the River- Hood River at the Columbia Center for the Arts on Thursday, April 8th, 2010. The evening will feature a variety of local musicians, poets, dancers, storytellers, and photographers as they showcase their interpretation of the Spirit of the River. The performance line-up includes renowned fisher-poet David Densmore accompanied by the musical stylings of Alexa Wiley. Local Gorge favorites Ben Bonham & friends and One Hum, featuring Richard Tillinghast and Tova Cochrane will also perform, as well as the Scarlet Thistle Tribal Bellydance Troupe. Native Storyteller Ed Edmo will also be participating. Performances will take place amongst a backdrop of Peter Marchbach photographs.
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AVEDA Earth Month 2010

Columbia Riverkeeper is proud to once again partner with AVEDA for their annual Earth Month campaign. Salons, stylists, and clients from across Oregon and SW Washington will be raising funds to support CRK's work to protect and restore the waters of the Columbia River throughout the month of April. Need a hair-cut? Visit your local AVEDA salon on Earth Day- Thursday, April 22nd- for the Cuts-for-Clean-Water. All proceeds will be donated to CRK! Also, join us for an evening of fashion and style at the AVEDA Institute of Portland's Catwalk-fo-Clean-Water fashion show on Wednesday, April 21st in downtown Portland. AIP is hoping to raising $20,000 for CRK-- come show your support!
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Columbia River Restoration Act Introduced In Congress

The Columbia River Restoration Act was introduced in Congress last week. Columbia Riverkeeper thanks Representative Earl Blumenauer and Senator Jeff Merkley for supporting the bill that would designate federal funding toward cleaning up pollution in the Columbia River. The bill recognizes the Columbia Basin as one of the nation’s great water bodies and opens the path to reduce toxic contaminants, improve ecosystems in the Columbia Basin, add significant jobs and begin long term improvements to public health and our economic stability.
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DEQ Rejects Bradwood Landing Demands: Attend Important Upcoming Hearing

Last week, The Oregonian reported that Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has rejected demands by NorthernStar's Bradwood LNG project to issue an approval of its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and pipeline. Instead, DEQ is sticking to its request for additional information about the Bradwood LNG terminal's impacts on salmon and water quality, and stated that NorthernStar's failure to produce the key information "will likely lead to a denial of certification." This is a huge setback for Texas-based proponents of Bradwood LNG who are seeking to rush their project ahead in a collapsing LNG market.
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New Proposals for Cleaning Up Radioactive Waste at Hanford: Dept. of Energy's Tank Closure & Waste Management EIS

The public comment period is now open on the Department of Energy's (DOE) "Draft Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement" (EIS).  The EIS is a critical component of cleanup at Hanford.  Located in southeastern Washington along the Columbia River, Hanford's operations once included a plutonium production complex with nine nuclear reactors.  Today, we are faced with a nuclear legacy that continues to threaten the Columbia River.  Staggering amounts of radioactive and chemical waste are currently stored in 177 underground tanks at Hanford.  Many of these tanks are known to have collectively leaked at least a million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste into the ground during operations.  Some contaminants have reached the groundwater.
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Riverkeeper Requests Action After Spill

The Oregonian featured Columbia Riverkeeper's work to bring Longview-based Chinook Ventures into compliance with enviromental laws after a spill of petroleum coke into the Columbia River last week. The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) stated that Chinook Ventures, which operates at the former Alcoa aluminum plant, was the likely source of the spill. Columbia Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit against Chinook Ventures in 2009 for improper pollution controls and discharging without a permit. For a year prior to last week's spill, CRK urged Ecology to take appropriate action. We believe that if Ecology does not take enforcement actions and better regulate Chinook Ventures, we will continue to see spills and illegal discharge.
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Riverkeeper's FERC Challenge Filed

Columbia Riverkeeper and conservation partners filed the opening legal brief in the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on January 25th, 2010 challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) approval of Bradwood Landing LNG terminal and pipeline. 
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U.S. DOE Announcement not to Store Mercury at Hanford a "Major Victory" for the Columbia

CRK applauded the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) announcement that Hanford is no longer a top choice as the nation's new mercury waste storage site. DOE has chosen a site in Andrews, Texas, as its preferred alternative, based on the remote location and lack of nearby water. The Hanford Site, in contrast, is perched on the banks of the Columbia River. Last year, DOE included Hanford on a list of seven sites that it would consider for storing mercury waste. At public hearings held in 2009, CRK joined concerned citizens, elected officials, and the Oregon Department of Energy in urging DOE to take a hard look at the environmental impacts of importing more waste to Hanford, which is the nation's largest cleanup site. 
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