Tribe takes unique role in Rayonier cleanups

By Northwest Indian Fish Commission

Y'innis means "good beach" in the Klallam language and was the name of a major tribal village that once thrived at the mouth of what is now Ennis Creek.

Today, the "good beach" is poisoned by dioxin and PCBs contaminating its soil and groundwater. The former Rayonier Inc. pulp mill -- which operated at the site for seven decades -- is responsible for toxic pollution that has also leached into Port Angeles Harbor.

Strong cultural ties to the site, including an ancestral burial ground, and concern for fishing resources in the creek and harbor are why the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe signed a landmark agreement in May with state and federal agencies to clean up the site. Under the agreement -- rare for the clout it provides a tribe in an off-reservation cleanup -- the state Department of Ecology will lead the project conditioned upon a number of tribal requirements.

"We were pleased to get a seat at the table, especially since the site is off-reservation. It's the first time that has happened in the nation," said Russ Hepfer, tribal chairman. "It is important to have our deep cultural and fishing ties to this place recognized."

Four years of detailed studies to learn the extent of the pollution problem, along with public involvement and planning, will precede any cleanup. But that's fine with the tribe, so long as the job is done right.

"At first Rayonier was treating us like a citizen's interest group. We had to hammer in that we are a government and they finally came around. Now it has turned into a trust relationship." -- Russ Hepfer tribal chairman

"It will be four years before they put a shovel in the ground, but it took 70 years to screw up," said Carol Brown, director of community development for the tribe. "We have an emotional investment, as well as a property investment, in this cleanup. Thorough is better than fast."

Sparked by environmentalists' concerns about contamination once the mill was torn down in 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency took soil samples suggesting pollution levels were high enough to qualify the site for Superfund cleanup. Considered "moderately polluted," the EPA indicated the 75-acre site could be cleaned up under state laws.

Local and state officials, and the mill owner, didn't want the stigma of a federal Superfund site in Port Angeles, and didn't want to cede control of the cleanup to a federal agency. But they needed tribal sign-off on a state deferral, because the fishery impacted by the pollution is considered a tribal property right.

The tribe initially supported Superfund status because deferring the cleanup to the state Department of Ecology might mean no tribal role or funding to ensure proper cleanup. The agreement worked because the state needed Lower Elwah's sign-off and was willing to negotiate, and because the mill owner, Rayonier, was willing to pay the cleanup costs. Rayonier will reimburse the tribe for its expenses up to $250,000 per year.

The tribe has hired a Y'innis Creek Cleaunup Coordinator, Dave Hanna, who will help develop the cleanup plan, negotiate agreements and ensure that tribal interests are protected. "We're actually co-managers with the state and mill owner -- a three-party team managing cleanup operations," said Hanna, a civil engineer. If tribal conditions aren't met, Lower Elwha essentially has veto power in the state deferral agreement and could again support Superfund listing. The "seven non-negotiable points" required by the tribe include:

• An archaeologist to monitor disturbances to native soils
  
  
• Data gathering on impacts to shellfish and finfish
  
  
• Toxic assessment must consider subsistence and cultural consumption and exposure patterns.
  
  
• To protect habitat and the public, the tribe recommends cleanup to residential, not heavy industrial, standards.
  
  
• Site boundaries must include the probable area of influence.
  
  
• Cleanup procedures must support physical and biological restoration of Ennis Creek.
  
  
• Full tribal participation at all points, including status as a signatory to any agreements affecting cleanup.

"We got everything we wanted except for funding to restore Ennis Creek," said Hepfer. "We'll have to go elsewhere to find funding to restore the stream."

A large painted mural near the Port Angeles City Pier portrays early 19th century life in the wealthy, fortified Y'innis Village. It was one of two large Klallam villages in the harbor. The Y'innis site was occupied by the Puget Sound Cooperative Colony in 1887 and some surviving Klallams continued to live on beaches of the harbor until the 1930s, when lands were purchased for a reservation on the Elwha River. "The village site is still within memory of elders here," Brown said.

In 1917, the U.S. government built a sawmill on the site for milling spruce wood. The sawmill was rebuilt into a pulp mill in 1929 -1930. Rayonier operated the pulp mill from the 1930s until its closure in February 1997. Prior to closing, it was the largest private employer on the North Olympic Peninsula.

According to EPA data collected by the Washington Public Interest Research Group, it was also the largest single source of toxic chemicals to surface waters in the state.

Hepfer said the tribe's relationship with Rayonier improved over the course of negotiations. "At first, Rayonier was treating us like a citizen's interest group," he said. "We had to hammer in that we are a government and they finally came around. Now it has turned into a trust relationship."