Post by Okwes on Jun 6, 2007 14:54:27 GMT -5
Yakamas want damage assessment from Hanford operations
By PHIL FEROLITO
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
Scientists tour the remnants of a missile-defense system installed on
Rattlesnake Mountain in the mid-1950s to protect the nearby Hanford
nuclear reservation. The Yakama Nation is concerned about the Cold
War-era structures and their encroachment on the mountain, which they
consider sacred. HORN RAPIDS, Wash. -- An icy wind cuts across
Rattlesnake Mountain as Dana Miller combs its snow-covered ridge for
recent disturbances or unnatural activity.
Miller and a few other workers with the Yakama Nation frequently visit
the area to see if there have been any trespassers on the peak, which
rises more than 3,000 feet just west of the Hanford nuclear reservation
about eight miles north of Benton City.
The mountain once served as a place to pray, hunt and gather food, and
is regarded as sacred by Northwestern Indians.
Smoholla, a Wanapum spiritual leader considered a prophet by many, often
journeyed up the steep grade to communicate with the Creator and receive
direction in life, says Russell Jim, with the Yakama Nation
Environmental Restoration/Waste Management Program.
But in the mid-1950s, an anti-aircraft
missile-defense system was erected on the mountain to protect the
Hanford site. Remnants of a radio tower still stand on the ridge near a
few other buildings, including a battery-control area.
Although the mountain has been marred by the equipment, its cultural
significance is still recognized by the Yakama Nation, says Jim, who for
years has been working with the federal Department of Energy to address
the tribe's cultural concerns in the area.
That's just one site that's important, and there are many, many things
that need to be tied together," he says.
Like the mountain, all of the 560-square-mile Hanford nuclear
reservation lies within the tribe's ceded area, where tribal members
retain their traditional rights to hunt, fish, gather food and perform
sacred ceremonies.
Since Hanford transformed operations in 1989 to full-scale cleanup, the
Yakamas have taken an active role in monitoring and identifying sacred
sites throughout the area on the nuclear reservation.
Concerned about possible harm that plutonium production may have had on
the area, the tribe has been involved during the past five years in a
lawsuit against the federal government seeking an assessment of natural
resources and unspecified damage that Hanford operations may have had on
the area.
Last year, the states of Washington and Oregon and three other Columbia
River tribes -- Umatilla, Nez Perce and Warm Springs -- joined the
lawsuit. The states merely want the federal government to cover the cost
of assessing any damage.
A U.S. District judge in Yakima on April 26 will hear oral arguments on
a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. Department of
Energy officials say cleanup must be completed before damages to natural
resources can be assessed.
"We are currently conducting extensive sampling for contaminants in
water, sediment, soil, and (the region's plant and animal life) so that
cleanup decisions continue to have a solid scientific basis for the
protection of human health and the environment," says Department of
Energy spokeswoman Megan Bernett in Washington, D.C. "As we complete
risk assessment activities, the department is committed to implementing
cleanup remedies in accordance with state and federal laws."
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
Yakama Nation archaeologist Dana Miller walks near the summit of
Rattlesnake Mountain on an icy morning. An October report from RIDOLFI,
an environmental restoration group in Seattle, detailed these findings:
* Water was diverted from the nearby Columbia River to cool nuclear
reactors and then dumped back into the river despite being treated with
chemicals to prevent corrosion of reactor components.
* Hazardous chemicals from the site continue to make their way into the
environment, and there are billions of cubic yards of solid and diluted
liquid waste containing radioactive and other toxic materials.
* In an area about 35 miles north of Richland adjacent to the Columbia
River, roughly 11 square miles of groundwater is contaminated with
chromium and radioactive elements. The groundwater pours into the
Columbia River, which supplies communities downstream with drinking
water.
* In another area, significant concentrations of hazardous chemicals
such as uranium and cyanide have been found in groundwater.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy has been working to clean up the
area, and has committed to removing roughly 99 percent of the waste
being stored in underground tanks.
"They want to take 99 percent of the waste out of those tanks and call
it good," says Phil Rigdon, deputy director of the tribe's department of
natural resources. "I think it's those kinds of decisions that we need
to have some involvement with."
Tribal officials say a damage assessment needs to be conducted before
any thorough cleanup can be done, and the tribe's cultural dependency on
the area for hunting, fishing and food gathering -- all inseparable
links to their beliefs -- must be considered.
"One of our greatest concerns is that everything is done on such a fast
track, that sometimes they forget about the natural resources and don't
do a good job of assessment," Rigdon says. "Everything that we do is to
try to protect the resources important to the Yakama Nation."
But it's not just tribal members who would benefit from such an
assessment, Rigdon says. Sportsmen and residents also rely on the area's
resources.
Jim, who isn't a party in the lawsuit, says a damage assessment would
not only help with cleanup, but also would better protect workers by
identifying what exactly is in the ground.
When a cleanup crew runs into any remains or artifacts while digging,
the tribe is called to survey, document and inventory the site, he says.
There are numerous burial sites and remnants of ancient villages
throughout the area.
"We're very concerned about what is there," he adds. "Are these people
jumping down into something that they can't smell, see, that may be very
dangerous? Our people can't be running down there without knowing what
they're jumping into."
Jim has been working to put together guidelines outlining the tribe's
physical and spiritual ties to the area's natural resources in hopes of
launching a thorough cleanup.
"We are tied to everything," he says. "We're trying to cover everything,
foods, medicines, fish, animals ... right down to the smallest microbe."
Turning his thoughts to the mountain again, Jim tells how its
surrounding lower-than-normal elevation provides for moderate winters
while its relatively tall peak allows foods to grow late into the
summer.
Many elders whose ailing bodies limited their ability to travel often
stayed there year-round, he says.
"It was also a place that served as the next step when you left this
land to go to the next world," he says. "That was the belief of some,
and it's very easy to understand when they speak of that in our
(traditional) language. Very significant."
By PHIL FEROLITO
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
Scientists tour the remnants of a missile-defense system installed on
Rattlesnake Mountain in the mid-1950s to protect the nearby Hanford
nuclear reservation. The Yakama Nation is concerned about the Cold
War-era structures and their encroachment on the mountain, which they
consider sacred. HORN RAPIDS, Wash. -- An icy wind cuts across
Rattlesnake Mountain as Dana Miller combs its snow-covered ridge for
recent disturbances or unnatural activity.
Miller and a few other workers with the Yakama Nation frequently visit
the area to see if there have been any trespassers on the peak, which
rises more than 3,000 feet just west of the Hanford nuclear reservation
about eight miles north of Benton City.
The mountain once served as a place to pray, hunt and gather food, and
is regarded as sacred by Northwestern Indians.
Smoholla, a Wanapum spiritual leader considered a prophet by many, often
journeyed up the steep grade to communicate with the Creator and receive
direction in life, says Russell Jim, with the Yakama Nation
Environmental Restoration/Waste Management Program.
But in the mid-1950s, an anti-aircraft
missile-defense system was erected on the mountain to protect the
Hanford site. Remnants of a radio tower still stand on the ridge near a
few other buildings, including a battery-control area.
Although the mountain has been marred by the equipment, its cultural
significance is still recognized by the Yakama Nation, says Jim, who for
years has been working with the federal Department of Energy to address
the tribe's cultural concerns in the area.
That's just one site that's important, and there are many, many things
that need to be tied together," he says.
Like the mountain, all of the 560-square-mile Hanford nuclear
reservation lies within the tribe's ceded area, where tribal members
retain their traditional rights to hunt, fish, gather food and perform
sacred ceremonies.
Since Hanford transformed operations in 1989 to full-scale cleanup, the
Yakamas have taken an active role in monitoring and identifying sacred
sites throughout the area on the nuclear reservation.
Concerned about possible harm that plutonium production may have had on
the area, the tribe has been involved during the past five years in a
lawsuit against the federal government seeking an assessment of natural
resources and unspecified damage that Hanford operations may have had on
the area.
Last year, the states of Washington and Oregon and three other Columbia
River tribes -- Umatilla, Nez Perce and Warm Springs -- joined the
lawsuit. The states merely want the federal government to cover the cost
of assessing any damage.
A U.S. District judge in Yakima on April 26 will hear oral arguments on
a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. Department of
Energy officials say cleanup must be completed before damages to natural
resources can be assessed.
"We are currently conducting extensive sampling for contaminants in
water, sediment, soil, and (the region's plant and animal life) so that
cleanup decisions continue to have a solid scientific basis for the
protection of human health and the environment," says Department of
Energy spokeswoman Megan Bernett in Washington, D.C. "As we complete
risk assessment activities, the department is committed to implementing
cleanup remedies in accordance with state and federal laws."
GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
Yakama Nation archaeologist Dana Miller walks near the summit of
Rattlesnake Mountain on an icy morning. An October report from RIDOLFI,
an environmental restoration group in Seattle, detailed these findings:
* Water was diverted from the nearby Columbia River to cool nuclear
reactors and then dumped back into the river despite being treated with
chemicals to prevent corrosion of reactor components.
* Hazardous chemicals from the site continue to make their way into the
environment, and there are billions of cubic yards of solid and diluted
liquid waste containing radioactive and other toxic materials.
* In an area about 35 miles north of Richland adjacent to the Columbia
River, roughly 11 square miles of groundwater is contaminated with
chromium and radioactive elements. The groundwater pours into the
Columbia River, which supplies communities downstream with drinking
water.
* In another area, significant concentrations of hazardous chemicals
such as uranium and cyanide have been found in groundwater.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy has been working to clean up the
area, and has committed to removing roughly 99 percent of the waste
being stored in underground tanks.
"They want to take 99 percent of the waste out of those tanks and call
it good," says Phil Rigdon, deputy director of the tribe's department of
natural resources. "I think it's those kinds of decisions that we need
to have some involvement with."
Tribal officials say a damage assessment needs to be conducted before
any thorough cleanup can be done, and the tribe's cultural dependency on
the area for hunting, fishing and food gathering -- all inseparable
links to their beliefs -- must be considered.
"One of our greatest concerns is that everything is done on such a fast
track, that sometimes they forget about the natural resources and don't
do a good job of assessment," Rigdon says. "Everything that we do is to
try to protect the resources important to the Yakama Nation."
But it's not just tribal members who would benefit from such an
assessment, Rigdon says. Sportsmen and residents also rely on the area's
resources.
Jim, who isn't a party in the lawsuit, says a damage assessment would
not only help with cleanup, but also would better protect workers by
identifying what exactly is in the ground.
When a cleanup crew runs into any remains or artifacts while digging,
the tribe is called to survey, document and inventory the site, he says.
There are numerous burial sites and remnants of ancient villages
throughout the area.
"We're very concerned about what is there," he adds. "Are these people
jumping down into something that they can't smell, see, that may be very
dangerous? Our people can't be running down there without knowing what
they're jumping into."
Jim has been working to put together guidelines outlining the tribe's
physical and spiritual ties to the area's natural resources in hopes of
launching a thorough cleanup.
"We are tied to everything," he says. "We're trying to cover everything,
foods, medicines, fish, animals ... right down to the smallest microbe."
Turning his thoughts to the mountain again, Jim tells how its
surrounding lower-than-normal elevation provides for moderate winters
while its relatively tall peak allows foods to grow late into the
summer.
Many elders whose ailing bodies limited their ability to travel often
stayed there year-round, he says.
"It was also a place that served as the next step when you left this
land to go to the next world," he says. "That was the belief of some,
and it's very easy to understand when they speak of that in our
(traditional) language. Very significant."