Teck American Incorporated, a U.S. subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited, is funding and conducting a comprehensive environmental assessment of the Upper Columbia River (UCR) area in northeastern Washington State under a unique voluntary settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Referred to as a remedial investigation & feasibility study, the Study is occurring under EPA regulations and oversight. 

The study area is located approximately 10 river miles below Teck’s Trail Operations smelter (Trail smelter), which has operated for over 100 years and currently refines zinc, lead, and a variety of precious and specialty metals.

This area encompasses much of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area recognized for abundant recreational opportunities, including fishing, boating, swimming, camping and hiking. 

The study is focused primarily on evaluating potential risks associated with historical discharges from the Trail smelter, and the impacts of other historical mining and smelting operations in northeastern Washington. Since the first outreach from EPA, Teck has been committed to addressing risks, if any, to human health or the environment that may be associated with Trail smelter’s historic operations. This is consistent with Teck’s overall values, and approach to social responsibility and performance.

Since the 1970s, Teck has invested over $1.5 billion to improve the environmental and operational performance of the smelter, and today it is a world-class facility supplying and recycling vital metals and critical minerals to Canada, the U.S. and world economies.

Banner photo credit: J. Foster Fanning.

Photo Credit: Catherine L. Brown

Over the last 15 years, Teck has invested over $130 million in EPA’s study of the Upper Columbia River, which is now well advanced, including sampling of water, fish, beaches, sediments, soils, and plants. 

Based on these and other relevant data and studies, in 2020, EPA completed its human health risk assessment (watch the presentation). A companion baseline ecological risk assessment is well underway. 

Key findings of the human health risk assessment are as follows:

• The abundant game fish in the UCR are safe to eat, subject to mild state-wide and local-area advisories set by the Washington Department of Health.
  1. Washington State Department of Health fish advisories brochure. 
  2. Robust recreational fishery (source).
  3. Healthy choices include Northern Pike (an invasive species) and hatchery White Sturgeon (native species).
  4. Fish are an important part of a healthy diet (source).  
• Surface water is safe for all manner of recreational activities. In fact, concentrations of metals are a fraction of allowed maximum contaminant levels for drinking water, though residents and recreators should not drink river water due to bacterial content (source).
• The UCR’s numerous beaches are safe for recreation, except for Bossburg Flats beach, which has been closed to the public since 2012 due to impacts from a defunct non-Teck mining operation. The National Park Service owns and operates Bossburg and has not indicated whether or when it will address the beach. 
• For aesthetic reasons, Teck replaced the “Black Sand Beach” under Ecology oversight in 2010, and it is open to the public (source).
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  Photo Credit: J. Foster Fanning

  At a small fraction of sampled upland residential properties, concentrations of lead in soils are above EPA’s current screening threshold for residential properties (400 ppm) and is a matter of ongoing assessment. Residents of such properties should follow Washington State Department of Health’s healthy soils guidelines.

The baseline ecological risk assessment, a companion to EPA’s human health risk assessment, is underway and is expected to be completed before the end of 2023.

The Reservations of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Spokane Tribe border the lower eastern and western portions of the study area, about 70 and 140 river miles below the international border, respectively. EPA commenced a preliminary assessment & site investigation of the area in 1999. This was completed by EPA in 2004 and resulted in the recommendation to move forward with the full remedial investigation & feasibility study that has been underway since 2005. 

Both the Colville Tribes and the Spokane Tribe are fully funded participants in the UCR RI/FS and have been since before EPA initiated the RI/FS in 2005. 

Significant and ongoing RI/FS tribal participation has included: 

• Technical input and comment on the design, reporting and data analysis for each field study
• Regular tribal consultation with EPA Region 10 leadership
• Cultural resource consultation on all field sampling programs
• A unique multi-year tribal resource use and consumption survey
• Collaboration on an uplands plant sampling program, focused on plants of cultural significance
• Participation in an ongoing Soil Amendment Technology Evaluation Study, including conducting annual vegetation monitoring.

Photo Credit: J. Foster Fanning

While the Upper Columbia River/Lake Roosevelt remedial investigation and feasibility study efforts have been ongoing, Teck has voluntarily undertaken several residential soils removal actions in 2015 and 2017-18.

Separately, EPA has undertaken several removal actions in the town of Northport, where the non-Teck Le Roi/Northport smelter was formerly located, in 2005, and again in 2020-2021. Additional residential soil sampling is contemplated in 2021 to determine whether more removal actions may be warranted. The Washington Department of Ecology has also proposed a remedial action at Northport Waterfront beach area.

Lake Roosevelt Forum provides regular updates on the study and other topics of interest to area residents.