Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (“PEAC”), the Environmental Legal Clinic of Lewis & Clark Law School, has submitted comments on behalf of a coalition of environmental groups on the Columbia River Crossing Project (“CRC”) Final Environmental Impact Statement. PEAC clients include Rosemere Neighborhood Association, Coalition for a Livable Future, the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, Northwest Environmental [...]
Posts Tagged ‘groundwater’
EPA Testing Results at Camp Bonneville Show Contaminated Plume Growing & Moving
EPA has released the initial results of its testing at Camp Bonneville, the former US Military installation in Clark County, Washington. EPA is conducting assessment of the known and suspected release of hazardous substances at Camp Bonneville to determine whether it warrants listing under the Superfund Program following a petition from Rosemere Neighborhood Association (RNA). [...]
Camp Bonneville Sampling and Quality Assurance Plan
This Sampling and Quality Assurance Plan is the next stage in Rosemere Neighborhood Association’s effort to obtain Superfund status for Camp Bonneville. (Click HERE to view previous articles on RNA Superfund Petition for Camp Bonneville)
Environmental Protection Agency contractors, Ecology and Environment, Inc., of Seattle, will collect soil samples for lab analysis from all over the site and will be installing additional monitors in wells to test groundwater contamination as well as in-stream monitoring in Lacamas Creek.
The Sampling and Quality Assurance Plan details where sampling will occur and how it will be analyzed to determine what clean-up needs to be achieved to ensure public health and safety.
View the plan here (NOTE: this is a fairly large file): Camp Bonneville_Final Sampling and Quality Assurance Plan
PRESS RELEASE: Pollution Control Board Rules Clark County Development Standards Illegal
PRESS RELEASE****PRESS RELEASE***PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 6, 2011
Contacts:
Jan Hasselman, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 ext. 25
Dvija Michael Bertish, Rosemere Neighborhood Association, 360-281-4747
Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, 503-348-2436
Mark Riskedahl, Northwest Environmental Defense Center, 503-768-6673
Appeals Board Rules– Clark County Development Standards Illegal
Taxpayer subsidy & fish-killing loopholes scrapped
Tumwater, WA.-In a major decision with statewide impacts, a state appeals board today ruled that Clark County’s controversial development standards violate state and federal laws to protect clean water.
The ruling, by the state Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), means the county is out of compliance with federal clean water laws. It signals an end to the county’s on-going failure to protect rivers, streams and salmon threatened with extinction.
“Clean water is our future. Clark County has the potential to be a leader in low impact development, parks and green space. These are real growth sectors in our economy and will put people back to work,” said Dvija Michael Bertish of the Rosemere Neighborhood Association.
Rosemere Neighborhood Association, Columbia Riverkeeper, and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, represented by Earthjustice, challenged Clark County’s adoption of development standards that were too weak to prevent significant harm to the County’s already-stressed rivers and streams.
Progress on Rosemere’s Superfund Petition for Camp Bonneville WA
Background: Camp Bonneville Superfund Petition, Submitted by Rosemere Neigborhood Association & Columbia Riverkeeper
In February 2009, following Rosemere’s extensive involvement in what we consider a faulty clean up action plan at the Camp Bonneville military installation, Vancouver WA, Rosemere and Columbia Riverkeeper submitted a formal petition to the US Environmental Protection Agency to list the property on the National Priorities Superfund List.
See the original superfund petition here: http://www.rosemerena.org/home/2009/04/06/preliminary-superfund-petition-for-camp-bonneville-february-3-2009/
The goal of the petition was to bring EPA back into the project in order to correct failing cleanup efforts, currently at a complete standstill. EPA had been a major participant in cleanup efforts more than 10 years ago, but in 2003, EPA withdrew its involvement citing a lack of cooperation from both Clark County government and the US Department of Defense that owned the contaminated property. Camp Bonneville was a former 4000 acre international military training site where munitions, including missiles, grenades, and chemical warfare were used in live drills.
Documented groundwater contamination at the site has entered the Troutdale Aquifer System, a federally designated Sole Source Aquifer that was petitioned by Rosemere and Columbia Riverkeeper and established in 2006. The source of the contamination is a vast collection (both known and unknown) of buried military munitions and chemicals that have leached into the soil and groundwater throughout the site. Rosemere contends that the plume of toxic chemicals has been mobile for many years, and may have exited to compound, threatening Lacamas Creek and its tributaries, and Lacamas Lake which is hydrologically connected to the Columbia River.
Rosemere Neighborhood Association & Columbia Riverkeeper Submit Letter to Ecology RE: Alcoa/Evergreen Aluminum Smelter Supplemental Cleanup Action Plan
Rosemere Neighborhood Association and Columbia Riverkeeper have for years raised serious concerns about Washington Department of Ecology’s cleanup and oversight at the former Alcoa/Evergreen Aluminum Smelter. One of the major concerns is Ecology’s delay of the cleanup process by separating the East Landfill groundwater contamination decision from other cleanup actions. As part of the public [...]
Columbia River Crossing Project Environmental Impact Analysis
I-5 Interstate Bridge Over Columbia River
In Summer 2008, a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was released on the Columbia River Crossing Project, and various environmental organizations, including Rosemere Neighborhood Association, submitted public comment to show that the draft document was incomplete and full of data gaps. Concerns were also raised regarding the draft’s compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
Since the release of the DEIS, Rosemere has met several times with Columbia River Crossing (CRC) staff and has raised concerns regarding the project’s impact on the environment, including the aquifer system that provides Clark County residents with drinking water and local streams within the construction footprint.
In 2005, Rosemere submitted a petition to EPA requesting that agency to designate the Troutdale and Unconsolidated Alluvium Aquifer System in Clark County, Washington, as a Sole Source Aquifer. The EPA defines the Sole Source Aquifer Program as a tool used to protect drinking water supplies in areas with few or no alternative sources to groundwater resources, and where such an aquifer is vulnerable to contamination. Sole Source designation requires at least a 50% dependence on an aquifer for its potable water supply. Factual analysis provided by Rosemere and its partners shows that 99.4% of the potable water used in Clark County is obtained from groundwater. In August, 2006, EPA officially granted Rosemere’s petition and designated Clark County’s Troutdale Aquifer System as a federally protected Sole Source Aquifer. One of Rosemere’s goals was to ensure adequate environmental review of the CRC project under the federal Sole Source Aquifer program.
EPA Moves Forward With Site Inspection of Camp Bonneville for Consideration to List as Superfund Site
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10 Office has announced the results of its Preliminary Assessment of Camp Bonneville, the former US Military installation in Clark County, Washington. In a letter dated March 1, 2010, EPA informed Camp Bonneville cleanup contractors and the Washington State Department of Ecology that based on the information gathered [...]
Press Release: Rosemere Neighborhood Association, Columbia Riverkeeper, Northwest Environmental Defense Center Challenge Clark County Over Weak Stormwater Controls
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 18, 2010 Contact: Jan Hasselman, Earthjustice, (206) 343-7340 ext. 25 Clark County Challenged for Weak Stormwater Controls Clean water advocates put county on notice illegal loopholes must be closed Vancouver, WA–Clean water advocates, represented by Earthjustice, today formally put Clark County on notice it could be sued under the federal [...]
Press Release: Rosemere Neighborhood Association, Columbia Riverkeeper, Northwest Environmental Defense Center Fight For Stronger Stormwater Controls in Clark County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2010 Contacts: Jan Hasselman, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 ext. 25 Dvija Michael Bertish, Rosemere Neighborhood Association, 360-281-4747 Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, 503-348-2436 Mark Riskedahl, Northwest Environmental Defense Center, 503-768-6673 Clean Water Advocates Fight For Stronger Stormwater Controls in Clark County Lawsuit filed to protect salmon and close illegal loopholes Lacey, WA.–Local residents [...]
