MISSOULA — An international effort to reduce the amount of coal-mine pollution being released into Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River now has a plan for how the study of pollution should proceed and how much it is likely to cost.
On Tuesday night in Fernie, British Columbia, Canadians and Canadian tribes will get the first chance to weigh in on the final plan of study to address water pollution in the transboundary Elk-Kootenai/y watershed. The International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board released the plan of study in late March and is beginning to research the situation. Part of that research includes collecting public comments. A virtual listening session will be offered on July 8 at 6 p.m.
North of the Montana/Canada border, coal mines operated by Teck Resources have released wastewater laced with selenium and nitrogen into Canada’s Elk River for decades. In the early 1990s, the selenium concentration at the mouth of the Elk River started exceeding British Columbia water quality guidelines, and now, it’s increased to four times the B.C. guidelines.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks found that selenium levels were increasing in seven fish species in the lake between 2008 and 2013. Studies show that more than 90% of the selenium in Lake Koocanusa comes from just north of the Canadian border in the Elk River mines of British Columbia. In September 2020, after several years of data collection and input from several scientists, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality proposed site-specific water quality standards for selenium in Lake Koocanusa.
After that, under the Gianforte administration, DEQ was pressured to back off from the protective selenium standards that were approved in 2021 by the Environmental Protection Agency. So the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the four Ktunaxa First Nations of Canada and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho - collectively called the Transboundary Ktunaxa Nation - submitted a proposal to the governments of Canada and the U.S. in December 2022, asking them to address the pollution problem.
That led to the U.S. and Canada signing a reference in March 2024 for the International Joint Commission to look into the selenium pollution that slows over the border. The International Joint Commission established the International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board in September as an independent body to research the issue and make recommendations to the commission. That is what the study plan is intended for.
“This marks an important and very positive milestone in the commitment made by the United States and Canada to work in partnership with the governments of the Ktunaxa Nation to address water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed, and importantly, to work together to restore the health of the watershed, which has been heavily impacted by legacy and ongoing mining in the Elk Valley,” said CSKT Vice Chairman Tom McDonald.
Watch previous coverage: Report finds cost in the billions for Elk-Kootenai mining wastewater treatment
The study plan outlines the work that the Study Board will undertake over the next year or more to produce by September 2026 a final report outlining the extent of the pollution in the watershed and providing recommendations to reduce and mitigate the pollution. The board will have advisory groups and invite public comment. But most important to the Transboundary Ktunaxa Nation, the board must regularly consult with tribal members, particularly the Council of Indigenous Knowledge Holders, because according to the Ktunaxa Creation Story, the Kootenai/y River is central to and woven into the heart of Ktunaxa Territory.
The board will create four technical working groups to dig into the science and the existing data related to water quality; effects on human health and well-being; effects on ecosystems including cumulative effects; and mitigation. The groups will also identify any data or information gaps.
Examples of the kind of data the group will collect include Idaho’s 2020 Clean Water Act report, which listed the Kootenai River as impaired for selenium. Idaho’s sampling in 2019 found mountain whitefish with selenium levels in their reproductive organs that exceeded EPA limits.
Selenium is an essential nutrient, but above certain concentrations, it can be damaging to fish, primarily affecting the reproductive and developmental systems. Often, fish die from deformities while they’re still embryos or young fry. Through a process called bioaccumulation, large fish species suffer from greater selenium concentrations because they eat so many little contaminated fish. The percentage of deformed adults caught by biologists or anglers probably under-represents all the fish that are affected, officials have said. So, selenium limits are needed to protect them.
Tom Bansak, Flathead Lake Biological Station associate director and researcher, is the co-chair of the eight-member Study Board, which includes U.S., Canadian and tribal members. He is joined by Clayton Matt of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
“It is an honor to be part of the International Joint Commission Study Board that has been tasked to compile information, foster knowledge sharing, convene experts, analyze and synthesize science and monitoring, while incorporating indigenous knowledge every step of the way. Ultimately, the goal of all this work and effort is for the good of Kootenai/y Watershed and its people and species,” Bansak said in a social media post.
Bansak and his colleagues don’t have much time. According to the plan, the Study Board must produce a draft report by Sept. 26 and a final report by Sept. 28, 2026.
The short time frame and the requirement to engage the public and indigenous knowledge holders means the proposed budget is larger than it would be otherwise. The study group estimated that $4.9 million is needed to get the job done by 2026.
The Trump administration has been firing people in many government agencies, but that shouldn’t affect the International Joint Commission. The Commission was independently created in 1910 as required by the Boundary Waters Treaty ratified by President Howard Taft. The treaty was incorporated into U.S. law and has never been amended.
However, it’s unclear where the $4.9 million will come from or whether it will be affected by the current Congressional budget debate or the tensions that have arisen between Canada and the Trump administration. But the tribes are not deterred.
“We support the Study Board’s efforts to produce the best possible recommendations to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution. Their study will inform decisions that will affect the future of ʔa·kxam̓is q̓api qapsin (All Living Things) for many generations. The scope of the Plan of Study reflects the importance of those decisions and the size of the challenges we all face to protect and care for the land and all things on it,” said Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Vice Chairman Gary Aitken Jr. in a release.
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.
