This editorial was published by the Columbian newspaper:
Sunday, December 14, 2008
By Dvija Bertish, Rosemere Neighborhood Association and Lauren Goldberg, Toxics and Conservation Director, Columbia Riverkeeper
The recent story regarding the City of Vancouver’s move to increase protections for our local creeks and rivers from the stormwater that carries thousands of pounds of heavy metals, pesticides, and oil from city streets should be welcome news to everyone who values clean water, salmon or the chance for your family to enjoy a swim in a local river or lake.
Posted 9 pm, August 14, 2006
As of 3:00pm on Monday, August 14, 2006, the Troutdale Aquifer System in Clark County, WA, has been officially designated as a Sole Source Aquifer by the Environmental Protection Agency. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE EPA FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE.
On December 4, 2005, a petition was formally submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10, Seattle, 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 if contamination occurred, using an alternative source for the potable water supply would be extremely expensive.
To qualify for Sole Source Aquifer designation, the proposed aquifer service area must prove to be at least 50% dependent on groundwater for the potable water supply. Factual analysis shows that 99.4% of the potable water currently used in the proposed Sole Source Aquifer service area in Clark County is obtained from groundwater, confirming that the Troutdale Aquifer System qualifies as a Sole Source Aquifer. READ MORE HERE
www.HanfordNews.com
From the Tri-City Herald, a website archive of Hanford, Department of Energy and other nuclear related stories and information.
On March 22, 2006, the RNA along with Columbia Riverkeeper, Hanford Watch, Heart of America, and other volunteers attended a public hearing at the Red Lion Convention Center in Portland to discuss proposed cleanup efforts at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. This meeting was facilitated by the US Department of Energy (USDOE), and the Washington State Department of Ecology. This was a “scoping” meeting, where members of the public could state for the record what they wanted to see in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Camp Bonneville (nearly 4000-acres) is an Army installation that was closed in 1995. It is located in Southeast Clark County about 12 miles east of Vancouver, WA. Established in 1909, the Camp has been used to train many generations of military personnel with field artillery. At one point, Royce Pollard, now Mayor of the City of Vancouver, was the commander of this facility. The Camp was decommissioned by the Army, and the property is slated for transfer to the Clark County Parks Department sometime within the next ten years. Plans have been mentioned for the County to build a public amphitheater and to open the area to hiking and other public uses.
Landfill Four is coated in plastic to prevent
erosion and movement of the pollution from rain.
The yellow posts in the background mark a test well
that is used to monitor ammonium perchlorate
levels in the groundwater.
Camp Bonneville is a decommissioned military installation in Clark County. The US Army used this forested area for target practice, including the firing of missiles. The camp was also used as a munitions landfill. These buried munitions have caused a toxic underground plume of ammonium perchlorate to develop.
Well water quality is just as important as quantity, but easier to overlook. There is rarely a clear signal when microorganisms, nitrates, pesticides or VOG’s (volatile organic compounds) contaminate well water. Yet these contaminates do make their way into private wells. Homeowners who choose the “blinders” approach, assuming that their well water is OK, are taking a gamble with their health. The potential risks are kidney and nervous system damage, intestinal illness, cancer and birth defects. According to a US Geological Survey, many wells in Clark County and Vancouver were tested and found to contain contaminates.
