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Department of Ecology News Release - July 16, 2009
09-166
SPOKANE - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Teck American Inc. (Teck) in Spokane this week signed a detailed voluntary agreement to remove slag from a beach area on the Upper Columbia River known as Black Sand Beach.
The slag, which has the appearance of black sand, is an industrial byproduct from a metals smelting facility operated by Teck Metals Ltd. (formerly Teck Cominco) in Trail B.C.
In the fall of 2010, approximately 5,000 cubic yards of granulated slag will be removed and transported for recycling and re-use to Teck’s Trail smelter facility. Ecology determined that the slag forming the beach is an industrial waste that contains elevated concentrations of metals and is best removed. Teck has agreed to remove and recycle the slag to avoid continued erosion and movement of the material into the river.
Black Sand Beach, located on state trust land that is managed by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, encompasses approximately one acre three miles south of the Canadian border on the east side of the river north of Northport. Teck will rebuild the beach so it remains available for recreational use.
The full degree of risks to human health and the environment posed by past discharges by Teck's Trail facility into the Upper Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt are currently being investigated under a comprehensive multi-year study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Teck, in coordination with state, tribal and federal authorities.
“Teck American in Spokane has agreed to work with Ecology to clean up this beach as the investigation continues to determine the extent and location of contaminants throughout the Upper Columbia River region,” said Mike Hibbler, who manages Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program in Eastern Washington. “Additional information collected during the cleanup will help with the EPA’s investigation.”
During the next year, Ecology will work with Teck American, government partners and the public to develop the Black Sand Beach cleanup plan, and to secure the necessary permits and engineering documents for the project.
Ecology will involve the public in evaluating the engineering design and will ask for public comment.
Visitors playing in the water at Black Sand Beach (photo by Chuck Gruenenfelder)
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Media Contact: Jani Gilbert, communications manager, (509) 329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177; e-mail jagi461@ecy.wa.gov
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
