EPA targets groundwater contamination

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has begun bringing together local, state and federal agencies in an effort to solve groundwater contamination in the Lower Yakima Valley.

The EPA action was prompted by a series of Yakima Herald-Republic stories published last month about the failure to remedy -- or even examine -- long-standing problems of nitrates contaminating small private wells.

The stories showed how local, state and federal agencies virtually ignored a study six years ago that found one in five of 195 wells tested outside five Lower Valley communities contained nitrates in excess of federal safety limits. Until now, there has been no widespread effort to study the extent of contamination or its causes, measure health effects or warn tens of thousands of well users, including many low-income Latino farm workers living in rural communities.

Nitrate is an odorless compound found in soil and water. It can exceed safe levels by leaching into aquifers from failing septic systems, old wells in disrepair or through excessive application of nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Nitrates also often indicate the presence of other contaminants, such as bacteria and pesticides.

In the Lower Valley, many fields are sprayed with both commercially produced fertilizer and manure from dairies. With 72 dairies, the Lower Valley has the state's highest concentrations of milk cows.

The EPA plans to convene a meeting next month in Zillah or Granger to examine ways to address the groundwater contamination.

EPA Regional Director Elin Miller in Seattle wrote in a Nov. 4 letter to the Herald-Republic that the agency is organizing an effort among the state departments of Health, Ecology and Agriculture, the federal Indian Health Service and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a unit of the federal Centers for Disease Control.

"EPA is interested in applying the collective resources and tools of all the agencies that have a role in groundwater management in order to identify sources and assess the distribution of nitrates that can be addressed in the near term," Miller wrote.

Officials from the county and the Yakima Health District will also be invited. But the meeting will be closed to the public, environmental groups and the dairy industry.

The Dec. 4 meeting will include a tour of the Lower Valley to help participants understand the region's shallow-water aquifers and the various sources of nitrate contamination.

Marie Jennings, manager of the EPA's drinking water unit, said Thursday in a telephone interview that the newspaper's series -- "Hidden wells, dirty water" -- documented a lack of coordination among agencies with responsibility for drinking and groundwater.

"Because no one person is responsible, it's easier for people to say, 'Oh, that's not a drinking water issue,'" she said.

Jennings also said she was concerned to learn about the state Legislature's role in weakening regulations governing the dairy industry, a source of nitrates. Among other actions, the legislature shifted dairy inspections from the state Ecology Department to the Agriculture Department, whose role is to promote farming. It also allowed dairies to keep secret their plans for manure disposal by providing an exception to the state's Open Records Act.

In her letter, Miller said the agency is "expeditiously" considering whether to invoke a section of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to allow immediate action, such as bringing in bottled water.

But Miller indicated the emergency authority is most often used to force a specific polluter from contaminating groundwater. With nitrates, that is difficult, she said.

"In the Yakima Valley situation, nitrate contamination is not confined to a small area, nor is it readily attributable to one, or even a limited number of activities," Miller said.

Many families in the Lower Valley have been driven to buy drinking water after finding their wells contained nitrates in excess of the federal limit of 10 milligrams per liter.

Spokespersons for the Ecology and Agriculture departments said their agencies would be participating in next month's meeting. The Department of Health said although it has no jurisdiction over private wells, it, too, would likely "be at the table."

* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.

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