NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
A7
Toxic: DEQ says no pesticides detected in local water supply
Continued from Page A1
and once home in Walla
Walla,
contacted
Ore-
gon DEQ. The report that
Blue Mountain Divers fi led
included photographs and
videos of one of the 55-gal-
lon barrels, showing the
2,4-D 2,4,5-T label. Their
report also noted that they
did not know whether the
barrels were full or empty,
or how long they had been in
the lake. But what alarmed
them was that “the ingre-
dients in 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T
were nearly identical to the
infamous Agent Orange, and
also a known carcinogen,”
Blue Mountain Divers said
in their report.
Wallowa Lake is the pri-
mary source of drinking
water for Joseph.
In their response to Blue
Mountain Divers’ com-
plaint, Oregon DEQ noted
“Drums have been found at
the lake bottom for years,
a remnant of when empty
drums were used exten-
sively at the lake to anchor
docks. It was common prac-
tice at the time for people
to fi ll the drums with water,
rocks or cement and anchor
the drums with rope to fl oat-
ing docks. Drums were also
commonly used to provide
fl otation to docks. Over the
years, as the docks disin-
tegrated or were removed
or abandoned, many of the
drums remained, especially
those used as anchors.”
Nevertheless, DEQ coor-
dinated with EPA in analyz-
ing and resolving the prob-
lem. Although no pesticides
or herbicides have been
detected in Joseph’s drink-
ing water, the fact that the
drums were discovered in an
area where nothing similar
had been found before was a
concern. EPA made the deci-
sion to remove the barrels
from Wallowa Lake.
Ellen Morris Bishop
The barrels labeled 2,4,-D and 2,4,5-T are located off the Wallowa Lake State Park Marina , and lie beneath 50 to 120 feet of
water.
At the EPA’s request,
Blue Mountain Divers will
help them relocate the bar-
rels so that commercial
HazMat divers under con-
tract to EPA could remove
the barrels from Wallowa
Lake. Later this month Blue
Mountain Divers plans a
dive to relocate what the
EPA has termed “historic
drums”. “We are going to
use negative buoyant cord,
similar to that used in cave
diving, to help them fi nd
the barrels,” Anderson said.
“The
negatively-buoyant
string won’t get snagged by
fi shing lines.”
“The EPA and DEQ are
collaborating to develop a
plan to recover the barrels—
especially the larger, seem-
ingly intact ones,” said Mike
Boykin, project coordinator
for DEQ. The present idea is
to remove the entire collec-
tion of barrels and drums in
fall, 2019—probably in late
Labels on drums and barrels found at between 50 and 120
feet of water off the marina at the south end of Wallowa Lake
are labeled 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T.
September or October, once
tourism and lake use has sub-
sided, and also when there is
no confl ict with fi sh spawn-
ing. They plan to engage
an independent commercial
dive contactor who would
use “Hard-Hat” fully-suited
divers to locate the subsur-
face containers, roll each of
the 100-gallon barrels into a
bigger drum, seal that larger
container, and hoist it to the
surface where it would be
placed on a barge. “Each of
those bigger, sealed contain-
ers could weigh a half-ton or
more,” Boykin said. “So the
equipment needs to be up to
the job. The barge can’t just
be a rowboat. It has to be
stable and sturdy.”
Although it’s unknown
whether the larger barrels (or
for that matter, some smaller
55 gallon drums) are 1) still
intact and still contain her-
bicide, or 2) were empty
when placed in the lake and
are now merely fi lled with
water, or 3) were once part
of a pier foundation and are
weighted down by concrete,
the plan is to treat them all as
hazardous material.
The project will likely
take about a week. It is
considered a “superfund”
cleanup or, technically, a
CERCLA action– Com-
prehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980,
and will be funded by EPA
under that act.
States Approve Water Quality Plan
for Hells Canyon Hydro Projects
BOISE, Idaho, May 28,
2019 — Idaho Power has
taken a major step toward
a new federal license for its
largest hydroelectric project:
Idaho and Oregon have cer-
tifi ed the company’s plan for
meeting water quality stan-
dards in the Snake River as
part of its operation of three
dams in Hells Canyon.
Section 401 of the federal
Clean Water Act requires the
company to produce a plan to
meet state water quality stan-
dards as part of the relicens-
ing process. Because Hells
Canyon is on the Idaho–Ore-
gon border, both states must
approve the company’s plan
(commonly called a 401
certifi cation).
The plan’s acceptance,
announced late Friday, is a
signifi cant move forward in
the company’s application to
relicense Brownlee, Oxbow
and Hells Canyon dams.
Together, those projects pro-
vide about 70% of the com-
pany’s hydroelectric genera-
tion and are the backbone of
Idaho Power’s clean energy
mix. The original license for
the complex expired in 2005,
and the company has oper-
ated the dams on a series of
annual licenses since then.
Under the plan, Idaho
Power commits to a wide
range
of
water-quality
improvement
measures.
Some have been developed
and tested over the past sev-
eral years, while others will
be implemented when the
company receives a new
long-term license from the
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
“Receiving the 401s from
the states is a huge milestone
for the company,” said Brett
Dumas, Director of Envi-
ronmental Affairs for Idaho
Power. “This allows us to
move forward with relicens-
ing our most valuable asset.
And, it clears the way for a
tremendous number of proj-
ects to improve the envi-
ronment of the Snake River
while Idaho Power contin-
ues to provide safe, reliable,
clean energy into the future.”
Idaho Power has pro-
posed an extensive series of
upstream river restoration
measures, including the Snake
River Stewardship Program,
to address water temperatures
in the Snake River.
One major component of
the company’s plan includes
projects to narrow and
deepen key stretches of the
Snake River between Wal-
ters Ferry and Homedale,
which improves natural river
function and habitat. Work-
ing with landowners, the
company has begun plant-
ing thousands of native trees
and shrubs along tributaries
of the Snake River to pro-
vide shade. Both measures
will help decrease water
temperatures.
Additional steps include
funding for improvements,
such as pressurized sprin-
kler irrigation to reduce run-
off from agricultural land,
equipment to increase the
oxygen in water released
from Brownlee Dam and
spillway modifi cations to
minimize dissolved gases,
which can harm fi sh.
The
company
has
already launched a 10-year
study of mercury levels in
Brownlee and Hells Can-
yon reservoirs in coordi-
nation with the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey. The 401
plan also proposes lower-
ing Brownlee Reservoir in
unusually warm years to
reduce water temperatures
during downstream salmon
spawning.
“We want to be sure
everything stays clean, and
we do this right,” Boykin
said. “If the barrels are still
full and they open up, the
fi rst thing that you’ll see
is likely to be a fi sh kill.
We don’t want to take any
chances of that happening.”
The plan for safe
removal of these barrels is
still under development.
Before a date can be set,
there will be consultation
with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
and Nez Perce Fisheries
to ensure there is no con-
fl ict with fi sh spawning or
migration. Wallowa Lake
State Park will have a say
in the plan. Local festivals,
including the Dragon Boat
races that occur at the south
end of the lake will also
have input.
Although no 2,4-D or
2,4,5-T have been detected
in Joseph’s drinking water,
DEQ will carefully mon-
itor the water quality in
both Wallowa Lake and
in Joseph’s treated drink-
ing water while the divers
are recovering the suspi-
cious barrels. To date, DEQ
has not tested the water in
Wallowa Lake. “If some
product has leaked out in
the past,” said DEQ proj-
ect coordinator Jamie Col-
lins, “some of it may have
degraded into other chem-
icals. Some of it may be
stored in the lake bed sed-
iments, and some of it may
be in the water column.”
“When I was at the site
in May, I talked with the
city administrator and also
the mayor of Joseph. Once
we have a better idea of
when we will be doing the
work, we want to have a
public meeting to present
our plan so residents can
understand what’s going
on, ask questions, and have
some input.” Boykin said.
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& PLUMBING SUPPLIES
ELECTRICAL & WATER SYSTEM
CONTRACTOR
PUMPS • IRRIGATION
HARDWARE• APPLIANCE PARTS
208 S. RIVER ST. • ENTERPRISE, OR
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Introducing Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Adam Heisinger
• Doctor of Osteopathy,
Des Moines University, Iowa
• Internship and Residency completed
in orthopedic surgery at Affinity
Medical Center, Ohio; Fellowship in
sports medicine completed at Orthopedic
Research of Virginia, Richmond
• Served four years as flight surgeon,
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and
Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
Dr. Heisinger will be seeing patients at Wallowa
Memorial Hospital regularly for clinic visits
and surgery. Ask your physician for a referral today.
We treat you like family
601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
Olive Branch
P H A R M A C Y
compassionate
convenient
confidential
306 West North Street Enterprise, OR
(541) 426-7455 • Hours: 9am to 6pm
Come in and
meet our new
pharmacist!
Sarah Blackwood, Pharm D.
•Lots of family activities
•Trout fishing ponds
•Live music
•Many local exhibitors
•Logging games
•Fun scavenger hunt
with prizes for kids
•And so much more!
Join us as we celebrate our community’s natural and cultural resources.
Free admission for all ages!
June 28th | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Wallowa County Fairgrounds