Roll on Mighty Columbia River (case study in govt. head scratcher’s inertia)

The EPA reportcompiles monitoring data in the Columbia and its tributaries since 1990 for four well-known and long-lasting hazardous pollutants. The sources of those substances range from water running off farms and industrial lands to wastewater from sewage treatment plants….Meantime, levels of mercury and of fire retardant, one of a host of “emerging” toxic substances that originate in consumer products, appear to be rising….The EPA’s first state of the river report for the Columbia doesn’t present new data, rather it compiles thousands of previous monitoring results….Northwest Tribes first identified the human health hazards of Columbia contaminants in the early 1990s. Charles Hudson, a spokesman for the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, said it’s good the EPA reached similar conclusions.

Huh? And, we want ever more involvement of the Feds and while State Govt’s appear inept and/or corrupt. Study, study more study. But as one man remarked:  “We need to spend less time scratching our heads on what (data) is missing,” he said, “and more time figuring out what actions we’re going to take.” (Charles Hudson, a spokesman for the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission). Bureaucrats and more bureaucrats…and then what? http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/01/columbia_river_toxins_at_unacc.html

I find the fire retardant an interesting factor, given all the dumps in remote canyons. It is instructive to see the infiltration of our waters, wildlife and food via distant applications. If this data is accurate and the risk factor is not overblown or exaggerated for agenda purposes…then this is perhaps the immediate cause for NW fly fishers to gather around, rather than distant ANWR; does it not carry the gravity of the Pebble Mine cause celeb??? It is surely of greater import to a great number of  people. We have dumped a billion $$$ into the restoration of NW salmon runs…while over studying and blinking at the true problem…the poisoning of the well??? Save the Columbia River Basin???