Blog post by Brett VandenHeuvel, Riverkeeper’s Executive Director—
May 20, 2014. On May 7th, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported a 300 gallon oil spill from the Ice Harbor Dam, located on the Snake River in eastern Washington. According to a Washington Department of Ecology report obtained by Riverkeeper, 100 gallons of hydraulic fuel oil entered the Snake River. The oil spill caused a 10-by-300 foot oil sheen on the river. Following the oil spill discovery, the Corps failed to notify the public on its website or release a media advisory.
The last major oil spill at the Ice Harbor Dam occurred in early 2012, when the Corps reported discharging over 1,500 gallons of PCB-laden transformer oil.
Oil pollution spilling and leaking from hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers is a chronic problem. In August 2013, Riverkeeper sued the Corps for its chronic problem of spilling oil into the Columbia and Snake Rivers from hydroelectric dams including Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and Ice Harbor dams. The lawsuit is pending in the Eastern District of Washington.
Read our full press release here
