21 years ago two environmental organizations, Columbia River United and Clean Water Columbia, joined hands to form the Columbia Riverkeeper. The organization’s goal is to protect clean water, defeat fossil fuel terminals, and engage those living along the Columbia River, with the help of rural and urban communities, tribal nations, local businesses, strong coalitions, and its members.

During this time they have been amazingly successful in accomplishing many of their goals. Their organizing, protesting and legal actions contributed to (and in some cases singularly generated) important outcomes benefitting the environment and our region’s people.

In 2011 Riverkeeper, with the leadership of Umatilla and other tribes, pushed Oregon to adopt the nation’s most protective limits on toxic pollution in fish.

In 2014 they helped to stop coal export when Oregon rejected a dock-building permit. Their law suit had the Army Corps agree to reduce toxic oil discharges from large dams.

In 2015 their actions led to a landmark Fossil Fuel Resolution being passed in PDX, the oil refinery plans in Longview, WA were exposed, and the Columbia estuary remained LNG-free.

Six years of engagement finally led to a defeat of the Millennium coal terminal in Longview, Washington in 2017.

And in a major victory after the derailment and subsequent fire of a crude oil-carrying train along the river in 2016, the Port of Vancouver voted to end Tesoro’s oil-by rail terminal lease and Washington Governor Jay Inslee rejected the proposal in 2018 (Tesoro sought to ship over 131 million barrels of oil per year down the Columbia River.)

2021 was a successful year for the Riverkeeper as well – they helped to ensure that the Millennium coal export terminal proposed in Longview, Washington, lost its rights to build along the Columbia. And their lobbying contributed to the Washington Department of Ecology’s denial of permits for a proposal to build the world’s largest fracked gas-to-methanol refinery, citing significant negative impacts on our climate and the Columbia River. (Northwest Innovation Works, the project backers, may appeal the decision.)

“Columbia Riverkeeper, our members, and our allies have together defeated more than a dozen fossil fuel export proposals targeting the Columbia River. Collectively, we have prevented the fossil fuel industry from turning the Lower Columbia into a fossil fuel highway. In the process, we have helped fight climate change and forged lasting bonds of friendship, solidarity, and political will. ”  (Ref.)

What makes an organization so effective? I decided to look at a single project – the fight for cleanup of a toxic site near the Bonneville Dam, Bradford Island, to see if I could find some answers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dumped toxic pollution in and along the Columbia River at Bradford Island for over 40 years, and resisted until now to be put on the Superfund List of the EPA that releases critical funds for waste removal. The resident fish show the highest pollution in the PCN.

After years of pushing from concerned citizens, tribal governments, activists, non-profit organizations and a few politicians, the EPA announced plans to list the site and a large adjacent section of the river to the nation’s toxic cleanup program in September 2021. That started a 60 day process of public comment collection which closed last week. Over 1600 people and seven organizations submitted comments in support for the Superfund listing.

The key to success lies in forming alliances, which the Riverkeeper has focussed on for 20 years of its existence. Below are just some who signed the letters pleading with politicians.

Among the most important allies are the tribal nations of the regions who bring knowledge and leadership to the protection of the land and river. In this particular case the Yakama Nation has led this fight for over a decade.

It helps to have smart legal council that pushed politicians and administrations and that communicates in clear and direct language so that complex issues can be grasped. In a region that counts many Spanish speaking folks it is also great to have bi-lingual messaging happen in both English and Spanish, distributed on youtube or soundcloud, mediums easily available to all.

Having a website that makes every action transparent, delivers details and references (my source, certainly, of a lot of what I list) is a huge help. The site also links to other forms of education, in this case, for example, a webinar on Bradford Island issues. A good website provides overview over the history of the organization, step by step achievements for various projects, naming of all involved, calls to action with helpful details, anything that encourages readers to feel they are welcome and potentially of use in working for the shared goal of environmental projection. https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org delivers on all of those fronts.

Involvement that goes deep into communities providing all kinds of solidarity and support in both directions. Interviews with tribal representatives and community organizers, or community forums allow all to speak and ask questions help to spread the word and increase involvement.

Fundraising, from artists who donate part of their sales to local coffee shop owners who provide freebies keeps the target in view.

And speaking of which, this Thursday, 11/18/2021, Columbia Riverkeeper is hosting a virtual screening and panel discussion fundraiser regarding a documentary film that, as my regular readers know, I’ve been involved with as production photographer: “Necessity Part II: Rails, Rivers & the Thin Green Line,” a film by Jan Haaken and Samantha Praus. I have reported previously on the documentary which depicts the regional struggle for environmental protection in Oregon Arts Watch here and my own blog here. Proceeds from the fundraiser go to the Columbia Riverkeeper and the documentary project.

Panelists include:

• Jan Haaken, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Portland State University and documentary filmmaker
• Cathy Sampson-Kruse, Waluulapum Band, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Associate Producer, and champion of the Thin Green Line movement. 
• Direlle Calica, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Director, Institute for Tribal Government, Portland State University
• Lauren Regan, Executive Director and Senior Staff Attorney with Civil Liberties Defense Center 
• Jan Zuckerman, Local activist, retired teacher, and a founder of the Environmental School

Here is the direct link that allows you to sign up, or just check it out, if only by watching the trailer. I photographed the agricultural efforts along the river once again last week. Maybe the images of orchards and vineyards encourage you to support, if you can, those who are fighting the good fight to have the region protected for future generations, a region for which a healthy Columbia is essential.

Fish in the river, fruit and grapes on land can flourish if we protect and fairly distribute water resources. Unfortunately that is often under dispute. Here is the latest conflict: a week ago the city council of The Dalles on the Columbia River, approved an agreement to deliver an undisclosed amount of groundwater to Google, which plans to build new data centers in the city. With the council’s unanimous vote, the tech giant has pushed through another key piece of its plan to expand its operation in the Columbia River Gorge. The residents were NOT happy, particularly since the amount of water to be secured has never been revealed, and is actively kept secret (including a threatened law suit about disclosure requirements.) The levels of water in people’s wells is already sinking, and no one knows what provisions were included in the contract to ameliorate the effects of further droughts. This is only a month after a huge package of tax breaks was voted upon in favor of Google. Dams, potential pollution and climate disasters, and now the sale of water to tech companies – protection of the river is more urgent than ever.

Music today from Indian Records Umatilla.