US judge finds Teck liable for polluting Upper Columbia River
By Trail Champion
On Dec. 14, Washington judge found Teck Resources liable for response costs for any environmental or health risks resulting from almost a century’s worth (between 1896 and 1995) of discharges into the Upper Columbia River in Washington State.
Judge Lonny Suko said, in his ruling, that, “for decades, Teck’s leadership knew its slag and effluent flowed from Trail downstream and are now found in Lake Roosevelt but, nonetheless, Teck continued discharging wastes into the Columbia River.”
The wastes, specifically, included almost 10 million tons of slag containing contaminants such as lead, mercury, zinc and arsenic.
The case, launched by a coalition of Colville/Washington State First Nations tribes, and his been under litigation for more than eight years.
“The ruling was not unexpected, as we have acknowledged the historical discharge from Teck Trail operations,” said Teck communication manager Richard Deane, in an interview Monday, adding, “There are avenues to appeal this decision, and we are reviewing and studying this decision with counsel to determine what our next steps will be.”
He said Teck is fully committed to completing remedial investigations and feasibility studies with the US EPA (to determine if there are any risks to human health or the environment), and, if necessary, “to remedying the effects of our past practices on the Upper Columbia River.”
That being said, he allowed that jurisdiction remains an issue for Teck.
“Because we’re located and regulated in Canada, it’s Teck’s view that a bilateral approach to resolving this issue would be more appropriate than application of US Superfund Law (the law under which Teck was found liable).”
He said Teck has already invested $55 million after reaching an agreement with the EPA to conduct the study, which began in 2006. He doesn’t anticipate the next phase of the court case, which will involve determining response costs, until the studies are completed in roughly 2015.
He said the study results to date are, however, encouraging.
“The beaches are safe; the reservoir (Lake Roosevelt) is safe; the water quality is better than water quality standards in both the US and Canada,” he said.
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