Commissioners hear river investigation update

DAVENPORT — The Lincoln County Commissioners heard a presentation from two members of the Environmental Protection Agency offering updates on the Upper Columbia River Site Remedial Investigation, which is studying contamination in the river and “affected uplands areas.”

The study is covering 150 miles along the Columbia River from Grand Coulee Dam to the Canadian border.

An initial human health risk assessment found “elevated concentrations of lead” in soil. Past studies, meanwhile, have found metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, copper, mercury and zinc, while the Colville Confederated Tribes...