What level of clean up do polluted sites on the Columbia River deserve? The highest level, of course! The toxic legacy of the Reynolds Aluminum facility needs to change, and Columbia Riverkeeper, the Sierra Club and Landowners and Citizens for a Safe Community submitted our public comments to Washington Department of Ecology saying just that.
Reynolds Metals constructed and operated an aluminum smelter and cable mill on the Columbia River in Longview, WA from 1941-2000. Their operations permanently closed in February2001. The Reynolds smelter and cable mill left a toxic legacy on the Longview waterfront. Portions of the site show elevated levels of flouride, cyanide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs). The groundwater contains fluoride, cyanide and PAHs.
On June 1, 2014, Ecology released a report stating the six levels of clean up that the site could receive. Backed by current site owner Chinook Ventures and site operator Millennium Bulk Terminals, Ecology is recommending only a level four clean up. This level of clean up is far less protective and thorough. Columbia Riverkeeper, the Sierra Club and Landowners and Citizens for a Safe Community advocate for a full, level six clean up of toxic pollution. Citizens from Cowlitz County and throughout the Columbia River packed a hearing room on July 16, 2014 on the clean up at the old Reynolds site. Not a single person who testified asked for anything less than a level six clean up. At this level, the most toxic pollution leftover from decades of aluminum production would be excavated and taken to a certified landfill. All other levels of cleanup rely on various types of caps that likely will not stand the test of time. Cleaning up toxic pollution along the Columbia River is worth doing right the first time.
