Upper Columbia River

Overview

The Upper Columbia River site covers roughly 150 miles of river from the Grand Coulee Dam to the U.S.-Canada border, plus adjacent uplands in Washington State. EPA added it to the Superfund National Priorities List on December 13, 2024. That listing secures access to federal cleanup funding and legal tools to address decades of contamination from smelter operations.

The primary contamination sources are the Teck Metals Ltd. facility in Trail, British Columbia, located about 10 river miles upstream of the border, and the former Le Roi smelter in Northport, Washington. These operations discharged lead, arsenic, zinc, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, and slag into the river and surrounding uplands. River sediments and riverbanks contain these metals at levels exceeding Washington State Freshwater Sediment Management Standards. Upland soils also contain elevated cadmium, lead, and zinc that threaten plants, invertebrates, small mammals, and birds. Surface water samples collected throughout the study area tested below human health and ecological screening levels.

Lead in residential soil is the primary health concern, with particular risk to young children and pregnant women through direct contact or accidental ingestion in yards, gardens, and play areas. A 2021 Human Health Risk Assessment found upland soils contain lead at concentrations posing potential risks to residents in some areas. EPA has completed cleanups at 59 residential and common-use properties in Northport. Teck has cleaned up 18 additional properties and one Tribal allotment. Soil cleanups at 100 more residential properties in and around Northport are planned between spring 2026 and fall 2027. Public beaches and the river are safe for recreation, except for Bossburg Beach.

Teck is funding the ongoing Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study under a 2006 settlement agreement. That study is determining the full extent of contamination and developing cleanup options. Two Baseline Ecological Risk Assessments are also underway. The Upland assessment found cadmium, lead, and zinc pose the greatest risk to wildlife and plants in upland soils. The Aquatic assessment, which evaluates risks from contaminants in river sediment, is currently under review.

Community members can contact EPA directly with questions about cleanup or community involvement. Technical documents, fact sheets, and information repositories are available throughout the project area for public access.