EPA picks Valley for well project

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Valley has been selected as one of 10 communities nationwide for a special project to reduce health risks faced by minorities drinking contaminated water from private wells.

The Seattle office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will get $100,000 for a pilot project in the Yakima Valley, Tom Eaton, director of the Washington operations office, said Thursday in an e-mail announcement.

Called an environmental justice project, its primary focus will be to reduce exposure to contaminated water and determine the extent and sources of contamination through a well screening program, Eaton said.

Environmental justice is described as the fair treatment and "meaningful involvement" of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin or income in environmental issues.

"Hidden Wells, Dirty Water," a series published last year in the Yakima Herald-Republic, showed that as many as 30,000 Lower Valley residents -- most of them Latino farm workers -- had been drinking well water contaminated by nitrates.

Earlier this fall, the EPA announced plans to begin sampling well water early next year in an effort to identify the sources of nitrate and bacterial contamination. Many well owners suspect the contamination is chiefly caused by the application of dairy manure and commercial fertilizer to crops. Manure and fertilizer are rich in nitrates.

Earlier this week, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson announced the Yakima Valley was among the 10 "environmental justice showcase communities."

She said the purpose of the projects is to "highlight the disproportionate environmental burdens placed on low-income and minority communities all across the nation. By expanding the conversation on environmentalism, we can give a voice to vulnerable groups that haven't always had a voice on these issues."

Of the Yakima project, Jackson said the mission is to assess homes with contaminated wells to reduce pollution "through available regulatory tools and best management practices."

The EPA didn't say when the projects would get under way but said they would take place over the next two years.

The other communities are Bridgeport, Conn.; Staten Island; Washington, D.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Port Arthur, Texas; Kansas City, Mo. and Kansas City, Kan.; Salt Lake City; and Los Angeles.

* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 509-577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.

If you go ...

What: Call-in radio talk show on the environmental health of the Latino community

When: Saturday

Time: 4-6 p.m.

Dial: Radio KDNA

Who: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state departments of Health and Ecology

Purpose: To discuss water and other environmental health problems affecting the health of the Latino community in the Yakima Valley