EPA Proposes Adding Upper Columbia River Site to Superfund List

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Published: Wednesday, 06 March 2024 18:29

Via a Federal Register Notice being released March 7th, EPA will propose listing the Upper Columbia River (UCR) as a Superfund site on the National Priorities List. The notice will start a 60-day public comment period from March 7 – May 6, 2024.

Click here for EPA news release. Click here for one page EPA summary of the proposed listing.

The proposed UCR site will roughly extend from Grand Coulee Dam to the Canadian border (a 150-mile river reach that includes Lake Roosevelt) and includes about 77,000 acres of land east and west of the Columbia and south of the U.S.—Canada border called the “uplands.”

February 2024 and October 2023 Forum articles provide EPA’s rationale for proposing the listing, Washington State and tribal support, and counties opposed. The Forum’s 2020 Public Guide summarizes EPA's Human Health Risk Assessment, including the public being able to safely recreate on Lake Roosevelt and the Upper Columbia River.

For more information about the proposed listing, the Federal Register notice, and how to submit comments, visit EPA’s website at Current NPL Updates: New Proposed NPL Sites and New NPL Sites.

For EPA information on Upper Columbia River site background and ongoing studies, visit the Upper Columbia River Study Area website.