Presented by Whitney Fraser, Lodestone Environmental Consulting LLC and recorded on November 6, 2019 by the Institute for Tribal
Environmental Professionals.
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville
Reservation (Colville Tribes) in Washington State have endured more than a
century of injuries to natural resources in and around their Reservation as a
consequence of the release of hazardous substances from industrial activities,
in particular the proximity of their traditional lands and waters to the
world’s largest lead-zinc smelter, operated since 1896 in the city of Trail, BC
(Canada), upstream of the US-Canada border on the banks of the Columbia River.
The sediments of the river, the fish, and the upland soils have been
contaminated with arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, and zinc from water
and air emissions. Since 1999, the Colville Tribes have pressed for
investigation, cleanup, and restoration of their resources through a
combination of strategies: engaging the Federal government through its standard
process and bureaucracy related to environmental risk assessment and
remediation, taking independent action, and maintaining a focus on the end goal
of restoring Tribal members’ relationship to the River. The Colville
Tribes undertook successful litigation showing that the US government has
jurisdiction over pollution that originated with this Canadian company and that
the company is liable for contamination that is now located in the United
States. This presentation will focus on the specific successes that have
been achieved in these processes and the common themes that those victories
share, including the Colville Tribes' understanding of their fundamental
responsibility for taking care of the land and water.
