Sen. Risch has historic opportunity to support the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho

By Jennifer Ekstrom
Reader Contributor

I recently had the great honor to attend the Upper Columbia United Tribes’ conference on transboundary mining pollution in lovely Osoyoos, British Columbia. Indigenous speakers there illuminated that toxic, polluted water is flowing into tribal territory in every direction from B.C., including into the states of Idaho, Montana, Washington and Alaska. Despite ongoing efforts by tribes in the U.S. and First Nations in Canada to safeguard their waters, fisheries and ancestral lands from under-regulated mining pollution, they have been summarily ignored by the regulatory agencies. 

Regarding selenium pollution in the Kootenai River in Idaho — which originates from mountaintop removal coal mining in British Columbia — remarks were made at the conference by Glen Linder, a Global Affairs Canada representative. Linder stated, “Canada knows that they are late with their homework.” 

Selenium in the aquatic environment is a toxic element that poses a grave threat to aquatic life when present in certain concentrations. The consequences to fish include reduced growth rates, deformities and reduced reproduction rates. Selenium has been nicknamed “the silent killer” because it causes the disappearance of fish in some years, which can lead to their eventual absence. 

Teck Coal’s Fording River mine, which the company is proposing to expand. Photo by Alec Underwood.

The Confederated Kootenai and Salish Tribes (CKST) and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (KTOI) are part of the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation Council, and are impacted by the selenium pollution. The traditional Ktunaxa territory is currently being polluted by a multinational mining company in British Columbia, which leaves both the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon and the subsistence burbot fishery at risk. 

Selenium also impacts humans. A drinking water well in the city of Fernie, B.C., is shut down because the selenium concentrations in the well water exceed Canadian human health standards. 

But the pollution problem is on the verge of getting worse. Teck Coal is pushing forward with plans to expand their Fording River Mine onto nearby Castle Mountain. This expansion would make it the largest mine of its kind in North America, would obliterate the mountain and lock in coal mining for several decades to come. This would increase climate impacts with no regulatory assurances that dangerous concentrations of selenium and other pollutants will be effectively cleaned out of the water. 

The Ktunaxa Nation, which includes the Ktunaxa Nation Council, CSKT and KTOI, has long asked for a process in which the United States, Canada, and tribes and First Nations of both countries work together to determine reasonable solutions. This process would include the activation of the International Joint Commission (IJC), which was established under the Boundary Waters Treaty Act of 1909 to resolve transboundary issues and disputes. Canada is the last holdout on initiating this referral — even the province of British Columbia recently expressed support for IJC involvement. We are at a critical moment in time. 

“We must come to a solution before the end of the year — we were strung along in 2022, and then again in 2023 with a target of end of summer. The governments need to show that their deadlines, and their intent to meet them, are meaningful. We cannot accept any more broken promises. We have been asking for action on this issue for more than a decade, and we can’t wait any longer,” said ʔaq̓anqmi Vice-Chairman Gary Aitken, Jr., of the Ktunaxa Nation Council. 

“We thought the commitment to work in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation meant that all eight governments would sit down together to reach an agreement, but nothing could be further from the truth,” he added. “Since the U.S. and Canada are not able to set up a process for reaching agreement, the Nation has no choice but to set one up so that we can actually address the devastating pollution in the Kootenai/y watershed.”

All of this underscores the pressing need for action to ensure that fisheries do not collapse, the transboundary pollution is dealt with, and that public health and tribal rights are safeguarded.

Idaho Sen. James Risch is in a unique position to bring awareness and solutions for transboundary mining pollution in the United States. 

As chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Risch can do a lot to emphasize the importance of this issue to the Justin Trudeau administration in Ottawa. Risch has expressed alignment with finding solutions and can assert his influence in order to activate the IJC at this critical time. 

In 2019, Risch signed an important letter from all eight senators of Idaho, Montana, Washington and Alaska, expressing significant concerns about the problem and asking that British Columbia do a better job of regulating the mining. Since then he has been strangely silent, even as the pollution continues and the issues magnify.

Join us in asking Risch to leverage his power as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the entire transboundary Ktunaxa Nation’s effort to bring solutions for the transboundary mining pollution. Take action at this link: https://bit.ly/IJCREF

Jennifer Ekstrom is North Idaho Lakes Conservation associate at Idaho Conservation League.