Nearly 150 miles of Columbia River added to EPA's Superfund list

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday a roughly 150-mile stretch of the Columbia River between the Canadian border and Grand Coulee Dam has been added to the Superfund National Priorities List.

The new designation is an early step in what could be a decadeslong cleanup process following nearly a century of Canadian metal smelter Teck Metals Ltd. dumping heavy metals, including lead, into the river.

Teck was founded in 1906 and continues to operate a smelter in Trail, B.C., along the Columbia River about 10 miles north of the U.S. border.

Between its founding and 1995, Teck released millions of tons of lead, cadmium, mercury and other toxins into the Columbia River, according to legal filings and a detailed timeline by The Northport Project.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/12/17/nearly-150-miles-of-columbia-river-added-to-epas-superfund-list/