NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
A7
Barrels: Recovery of barrels found at bottom of Wallowa Lake nears completion
Continued from Page A1
So, although the fi nal
results of water and sediment
tests are not yet in, the barrels
strewn around the head of the
lake are not the threat they
once seemed.
Bright and early on Thurs-
day, June 13, an entourage
of vehicles and watercraft
arrived at the Marina at Wal-
lowa Lake. They included a
30-foot boat with an A-frame
hoist rising over its stern, a
barge-like vessel with another
sturdy A-frame hoist, a truck
hauling a white cigar-shaped
cylinder, another truck that
sported a satellite dish, and
a variety of other trucks,
many bearing federal or out-
of-state plates. The Environ-
mental Protection Agency,
(EPA), Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) and federal Haz-mat
diving contractors, Global
Diving and Salvage of Seat-
tle, had arrived to fi nd, exam-
ine, and contain or remove
the possible herbicide-laden
barrel(s) reported last fall
by Blue Mountain Divers.
As a precaution, the City of
Joseph switched its water
source from the Wallowa
Lake intake to well water.
In what seemed at times
a painfully slow, but very
deliberate, process, the div-
ing contractor began the
investigation by deploying
a remotely operated vehi-
cle (ROV) to locate and map
the distribution of the drums.
Blue Mountain Divers aided
in the EPA and contractors in
locating them by indicating
the general area where their
dive had found and photo-
graphed the barrels in Sep-
tember 2018.
The
ROV
used
side-scanning sonar, spe-
cially-tuned video, still
photographs, and GPS to
precisely map the location
of drums or barrels in the
area generally north and west
of the Wallowa Lake State
Park’s marina. In three days
of investigation, it precisely
located 72 of them. They lay
in a very dispersed pattern
over an area approximately
300 feet wide and 500 feet
long trending northeasterly
from the private dock that is
close to the shore and just
west of the public marina.
The ROV’s high-resolu-
tion photographs and video
showed that twelve of the
barrels appeared to be intact.
Four were “mashed up like a
crushed Coor’s can,” accord-
ing to one EPA offi cial. The
remaining 55 drums appeared
to sport holes or were oth-
erwise compromised. Pho-
tographs and video con-
fi rmed that the barrel of the
most concern, clearly labeled
as “2,4-D or 2,4,5-T” was
located in 100 feet of water
about 50 feet south of the
yellow and white booms that
serve as a breakwater for the
Ellen Morris Bishop
CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Most of the 70 or so barrels mapped by the ROV were located within the white rectangle on this
aerial photo of the marina and private dock area at the south end of Wallowa Lake. Global Diving and Salvage divers ready
their decompression chamber at Wallowa Lake. Diving into deep water at higher altitudes poses greater risks of “the bends”
and decompression sickness, so the chamber was a reasonable precaution. A diver exits the water after confi rming the location
of the herbicide-labeled barrel at a depth of about 100 feet in Wallowa Lake. The barrel proved to contain only lake water.
Technicians fi ne-tune the side-scanning sonar settings in the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) before returning it to the lake
for additional surveys of the locations of barrels.
‘UPON OPENING THE DRUM, THE CONTENTS APPEARED TO BE LAKE WATER.’
Oregon DEQ spokesperson Laura Gleim
private dock. It was among
the compromised group, and
appeared to be rusted, punc-
tured. The herbicide in that
barrel was long-gone.
With the suspect barrels
located by GPS, Global Div-
ing and Salvage put divers
in the water on Friday and
Saturday for more detailed
visual inspections, includ-
ing confi rmation of the barrel
condition, size, and orienta-
tion. Diving at the high alti-
tude of Wallowa Lake (4,500
feet) requires additional time
and precautions to avoid over
saturation of nitrogen in a
diver’s blood, and the poten-
tially lethal condition known
as the “bends” and decom-
pression illness. Divers gen-
erally either dive for shorter
periods or devote more time
to decompressing on their
way to the surface. This risk
is a principal reason that
Global Diving and Salvage
brought along the decom-
pression chamber.
Divers confi rmed the
location and condition of
the labeled barrel, and of the
other intact barrels.
On Sunday afternoon,
Global Divers and Sal-
vage, under direction of the
EPA, began removing the
intact barrels of concern,
and also the 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T
labeled herbicide barrel.
Close inspection of this bar-
rel on the bottom of the lake
revealed that it was rusted
and punctured, and that it was
highly unlikely that any of its
original contents remained.
It was the fi rst removed on
Sunday afternoon. Haz-mat
suited and qualifi ed div-
ers carefully loaded it into a
larger, black containment, or
“overpack” drum, sealed the
overpack, and then hoisted
the overpack barrel to the
surface. After this overpack
barrel was placed on leak-
proof barrier, EPA offi cials
opened it and inspected the
suspect herbicide barrel.
“Upon opening the drum, the
contents appeared to be lake
water,” said Oregon DEQ
spokesperson Laura Gleim.
“However, out of an abun-
dance of caution, respond-
ers sampled the water in the
drum and will submit to the
laboratory for 2,4-D as well
as 2,4,5-T analyses.”
The last four remaining
intact barrels are scheduled
to be removed from the lake
on Monday. They lie about
140 feet below the surface
and will be a challenge for
divers to work on. “At that
depth,” Boykin said, “a diver
can stay on the bottom for
maybe two minutes before
they have to begin to ascend
and decompress.”
The overpack’s con-
tents will be inspected at the
EPA site at the marina once
they are in a safe area that
will contain any hazardous
spills.”If the barrels are clean
of any contaminants, they
will either go to the landfi ll or
to a metal recycler. If further
action is needed, they will be
transported to an appropriate
EPA disposal site, depend-
ing upon their contents,”
said EPA spokesperson Bill
Dunbar.
The questions of “Where
did the barrels come from?”
“Who put them into the
lake? And “How long have
they been there?” may never
be answered. It’s com-
mon knowledge that used,
empty barrels were resealed
and used as fl oats for docks
through the 1970’s. Barrels
were also commonly fi lled
with rocks and used as
anchors for buoys or other
purposes. Greg Wiggins,
who grew up at Wallowa
Lake Lodge, said that in the
1950s and ‘60s he collected
barrels that had broken loose
from docks around the lake,
cut holes in them, and then
sank them into the lake. “It
was a way of keeping every-
thing looking pretty and pris-
tine,” he said.
4th Annual Feline
Spay and Neuter
Extravaganza!
June 25th
We care deeply about the pets and people in our community.
That is why we are partnering with the
Wallowa County Humane Society to bring you the
2nd Annual Feline
For one day only we will direct all of our efforts towards spaying and neutering cats. What you will recieve:
10% off all vaccines & dewormer
10% off bblood work
$10 off from the Humane Society
$10 off from DAVC
Cats must be at least 4 months of age and dropped off in a carrier
•
Call 541-426-4470 to schedule an appointment today!
arrier
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helps provide copies of the newspaper and unlimited access to
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FR
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Joseph Canyon Hike
WALLOWA COUNTY
GRAIN GROWERS
541-426-3116
WCGG.biz
911 S. River St.
Enterprise, OR 97828
Saturday, June 29th
YOUR
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800-522-0255
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Bed & Breakfast
309 S. Main St.
Joseph, OR 97846
541-432-0230
BronzeAntler.com
603 Medical Parkway
Enterprise, OR 97828
541-426-4502
WindingWaters.org
8 am - 3 pm • Meet at Wallowology!
Ecologist David Mildrexler will lead a hike exploring the Joseph Canyon
country that includes expansive grasslands, old growth forests, stunning
views, and fascinating cultural history. Learn about the importance of
this area as a key corridor for the region’s plants and animals.
Jr. Jason Follett, DMD
Valley Bronze of Oregon
307 W. Alder St. Joseph, OR 97846
541-432-7551 | ValleyBronze.com
205 W. Main St. 541-426-3124
Enterprise, OR 97828 UmpquaBank.com
541-426-3531
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204 Residence St.
Enterprise, OR
Pre-registration required • 541-263-1663
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541-426-7455
202 N. Storie St.
Wallowa, OR 97885
541-886-9151
OliveBranchFamily.com
CommunityBankNet.com
Heidi’s Gift Shoppe
59974 Mt. Howard Rd., Joseph, OR
David Jensen
541-432-0830
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1200 Highland Ave.
Enterprise, OR 97828
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403 Main St.
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P.O. Box 49.
Joseph, OR 97846
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BUSINESS HERE:
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800-522-0255
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