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 produces refined zinc and lead, a variety of precious and specialty metals, chemicals and fertilizer products.

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 $1.7 billion to continuously advance the environmental and operational performance of the smelter. Today, the Trail smelter is a world-class facility supplying and recycling vital metals and critical minerals to Canada, the U.S. and world economies and is the first stand-alone zinc processing site globally to receive the Zinc Mark.

Banner photo credit: J. Foster Fanning.

Photo Credit: Catherine L. Brown

Over the last 17 years, Teck has invested over $170 million in EPA’s study of the Upper Columbia River, which is well advanced, and has included sampling of water, fish, beaches, sediments, soils, and plants.

Based on these and other relevant data and studies, in 2021, EPA finalized 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 Kokanee, Lake Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, 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 potential 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 on land owned and operated by the National Park Service.
• For aesthetic reasons, Teck voluntarily replaced the “Black Sand Beach” under Washington Department of 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 outside the impact zone from the unrelated former non-Teck LeRoi/Northport smelter, concentrations of lead in soils are above EPA’s current screening threshold for residential properties (400 ppm). 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.

Next Steps:

The baseline ecological risk assessment, a companion to EPA’s human health risk assessment, is underway and is expected to be completed in 2024. These and other reports will be followed by a feasibility study to evaluate potential remedial actions. The studies will conclude with EPA’s selection of final remedial actions following which EPA will issue a final record of decision (ROD). At this time, it is anticipated that EPA will complete the ROD in 2028.

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 further assessment of dozens of former mine and mill sites in the basin, as well as the recommendation to move forward with a full remedial investigation & feasibility study for the Upper Columbia River, which has been underway since 2005. Also, as a stopgap measure, EPA conducted emergency removal actions at the (non-Teck) smelter in LeRoi/Northport in 2004.

For the UCR RI/FS, both the Colville Tribes and the Spokane Tribe are fully funded participants and have been since EPA’s preliminary assessment.

The Tribes’ 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, comprehensive multi-year tribal resource use and consumption survey
• Collaboration on an uplands plant sampling program to focus 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 voluntarily undertook 18 residential soils removal actions in 2015 and 2017-18 for properties generally outside the known impact zone of the former non-Teck LeRoi Northport smelter.

Separately, EPA has undertaken several removal actions to address contamination from the non-Teck Le Roi/Northport smelter formerly located in Northport, Washington along the Columbia River approximately 10 miles below the international border. EPA’s 2004 emergency action involved razing the smelter site and conducting removal actions at approximately 29 nearby residential properties. In 2020-2022, EPA conducted another 30 removal actions at residential properties in Northport. Also, to address impacts from the non-Teck LeRoi/Smelter site, the Washington Department of Ecology is planning remedial action at the Northport Waterfront beach area.

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