Contact: Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Region 10, 206-553-2160, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

SEATTLE (March 17, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today officially added Bradford Island as a Superfund site on the National Priorities List. The National Priorities List is the list of sites across the country prioritized for cleanup. Bradford Island is part of the Bonneville Dam complex in the Columbia River operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Historical operations and waste disposal at the site contaminated the land and river sediments with PCBs, toxic metals, and other chemicals that pose a health threat to people, fish, and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin. The Superfund designation brings EPA into a more formal role in overseeing the Corps’ cleanup work.

“The Columbia River Basin provides vital environmental, economic, and social support to the Pacific Northwest,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “It’s especially critical for the seven Tribal Nations who rely on this area as traditional hunting and fishing grounds, some with treaty protected rights. For years, the Yakama Nation has advocated for the cleanup and restoration of this important ecological, cultural, and economic resource. Today, I am proud to announce that EPA is officially adding Bradford Island as a Superfund Site on our National Priorities List, which will help accelerate the long overdue cleanup of this site.”

“Adding the Bradford Island Site to the Superfund list is a huge milestone. However, contamination in resident fish at the site is alarmingly high even after two decades of work,” said Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman Delano Saluskin. “Moving forward, cleanup should represent a 'gold standard' for working together to address the serious threat that this Site poses to the natural resources and our community.”

“The Columbia River is a cherished natural resource for the residents of Washington and Oregon, and for the people of the Yakama Nation. Here in Washington, we’ve seen with our own eyes the importance of Superfund designations in restoring places hurt by toxic contamination,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee. “We are hopeful that this highly contaminated site will finally get the resources it needs to protect the Columbia, and the salmon and other wildlife that depend on the river.”

“I would like to thank Administrator Regan and the EPA for their partnership working with the states of Oregon and Washington and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation to address the cleanup of toxic chemicals from the Columbia River. I’m committed to ensuring we have clean rivers to support a thriving economy and environment, as well as healthy and abundant fish populations, now and for future generations,” said Oregon Governor Kate Brown. “It can take years or decades of study before remediation begins at a Superfund Site. Now that Bradford Island is listed as a Superfund Site, and in part due to the amount of work that has already occurred, it’s incredibly important for EPA to consider early actions to reduce the levels of PCBs getting into fish, while plans are developed over the longer term for comprehensive cleanup of this site to restore it to a safe place for people and the environment.”

EPA’s decision to add the site to the Superfund National Priorities List followed formal written requests from the Yakama Nation, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and the Washington Department of Ecology, in addition to requests from community and environmental groups. Six other tribes who include Bradford Island in their traditional hunting and fishing grounds also expressed concerns about contamination at Bradford Island and impacts to natural and cultural resources. The final decision to list the site was informed by over 1,700 public comments received on the September 2021 listing proposal. An overwhelming majority of commenters supported listing Bradford Island as a Superfund site.

Bcause Bradford Island is owned by the federal government and operated by the Corps, the Corps is the federal agency responsible for the cleanup process. However, listing Bradford Island on the NPL will bring EPA into a more formal role of overseeing the Corps’ cleanup work. NPL listing will require a legally-enforceable agreement, known as a Federal Facility Agreement, between EPA and the Corps, to develop a cleanup remedy for public comment. Learn more about Bradford Island at: epa.gov/superfund/bradford-island.

Background

Bradford Island is about three miles west of Cascade Locks, Oregon and 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon, and is part of the Corps’ Bonneville Dam complex in the Columbia River. Beginning with the Bonneville Dam’s operation in 1938, the Corps used Bradford Island to support a variety of projects within the Bonneville Dam complex such as chemical and equipment storage and hazardous waste disposal. The Corps also historically operated a pistol range on the island and disposed of light bulbs and electrical equipment on land and in the river.

PCBs and toxic metals are found in the island’s soils and groundwater, and in river sediments, and in fish and shellfish near Bradford Island. PCBs are human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and are known to affect the immune system and may cause cancer in people. PCBs can also affect learning abilities in children. Other contaminants at the site also have known health and environmental risks. Due to high levels of PCBs and other contaminants in fish and shellfish, the Oregon Health Authority and Washington State Department of Health issued a joint health advisory against eating any resident fish or shellfish near or one mile upstream of Bradford Island.

Since 1998, the Corps of Engineers has been leading the investigation and cleanup efforts at Bradford Island. The Corps has removed electrical equipment and some contaminated sediment from the river and has also conducted studies to characterize sources of contamination in the river.

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EPA’s Region 10 serves communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Tribal Nations. Learn more about EPA’s work in the Pacific Northwest at: epa.gov/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest. Learn more about EPA’s collaborative efforts to protect and restore the Columbia River Basin at: epa.gov/columbiariver.