Columbia River Basin State of the River Report for Toxics - Toxics Reduction Efforts: Current and Planned
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States and Tribes, communities and non-profit groups, EPA and other federal agencies are working together on long-term recovery efforts to improve the water, land, and air quality of the Basin. A number of these toxics reduction efforts are already under way throughout the Basin.
State agencies are developing water quality improvement plans
States are required to develop water quality improvement plans for impaired waters so they will meet water quality standards. These plans, known as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), are in place or are being developed throughout the Basin for toxics. With these TMDLs, water quality will be improved using pollution controls on point sources and reducing non-point sources such as urban stormwater and agricultural runoff.
EPA and States are using permits to control toxics
The Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program controls the quality of water discharged into the Basin from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants, mines, and pulp and paper plants. Federal, state, and local NPDES permits limit the amount of pollutants from municipal, industrial, and stormwater discharges so that the quality of the water body receiving the discharge is not impacted or further impaired.
Federal State agencies are cleaning up hazardous waste in the Basin
Several contaminated sites in the Basin are being cleaned up and managed under EPA Superfund or state toxic cleanup programs. In the Upper Columbia River above Grand Coulee Dam, several investigations and cleanups are ongoing in the areas that drain into Lake Roosevelt. In the Middle Columbia River, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is working to prevent contaminated groundwater on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation from reaching the Columbia River. In the lower Willamette River near its confluence with the Lower Columbia, work is under way to clean up contaminated sediment from the Portland Harbor Superfund site, to reduce PCBs, DDT, and other toxic contaminants. States also manage contaminated site cleanup projects and work with the federal agencies, businesses and property owners to conduct cleanup activities.
States, Tribes and local partners are reducing polluted runoff from farms
The Columbia River Basin supports some of the most important agricultural areas in the country, but agricultural practices can degrade water quality by contributing eroded soil, nutrients, and pesticides to nearby waters. Voluntary agricultural activities provide a great opportunity to reduce toxics in the Basin by reducing legacy toxics such as DDT and current-use pesticides, and improving farming practices to control erosion and runoff. Washington state, Yakima Valley growers, water purveyors, local conservation districts, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation worked together to implement ‘best management practices’ to reduce DDT and other pesticides by modifying irrigation practices to reduce the amount of soil and pesticides carried to the Yakima River by irrigation returns. Oregon’s Pesticide Stewardship Partnerships in the Columbia Gorge, Hood River, and Fifteen-Mile Creek have improved water quality by changing pesticide management and application practices.
State and Local governments are removing toxics from communities
Washington state passed one of the first state bans on PBDEs in the summer of 2007 as part of the state’s overall initiative to reduce the threat from persistent and bioaccumulative toxics (PBTs) by keeping toxics out of products and industrial processes. Oregon is also working to reduce and control PBTs, particularly for large municipal wastewater dischargers. All of the Basin states have mercury reduction programs to promote recycling of thermometers and fluorescent lamps containing mercury, and each state works with dentists, hospitals, and vehicle recyclers to capture and recycle mercury. Oregon and Washington also sponsor collection of mercury recovered by small-scale mineral miners from streams and rivers. Clark County, Washington, recently implemented an unwanted medications take-back program for residents to drop off unwanted pharmaceuticals at participating pharmacies. The drugs are then incinerated at a licensed facility. Washington has implemented a pilot pharmaceutical take-back program in King County and plans to expand it to a statewide program. These programs reduce pharmaceutical pollution in wastewater and unlined solid waste landfills which can contaminate groundwater and surface waterways.