PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT BY THE DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP COALITION AS PART OF THE DUWAMISH RIVER SUPERFUND PROCESS

The Duwamish River is one of the largest rivers entering Puget Sound. While river management and navigation projects have cut off much of the watershed, and while its role in the industrialization and economic growth of Seattle has left a legacy of contamination that is the focus of an ongoing Superfund cleanup, the river remains an important hydrologic, geomorphic, industrial, ecological, and (importantly) cultural resource. The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC) is a grassroots organization founded in 2001 that has advocated for a healthy, sustainable Duwamish River that serves the needs of communities it supports. We are the community advisory group (CAG) to EPA (an official position) as well as the EPA-funded technical advisory group (TAG) to the community. When speaking about the Duwamish River (or any large industrial cleanup) it is very important to remember the many layers of peoples and history that are tied to the place and that will be affected by future project activities and other larger-scale environmental changes. DRCC/TAG is committed to a process that lifts up the community’s voices so they are heard and truly make a difference. Our approach is to highlight a history of place and peoples so the future can be better defined. DRCC/TAG has redefined public outreach for the Superfund process and can serve as a model for interaction between science and community. Accomplishments have included public comments made in 10 different languages, the use of Facebook and other social media sites for official comments, the only official Spanish language public hearing on the proposed plan (attended by 150 people), and the use of “digital stories” by Duwamish Tribal youth and Vietnamese youth as part of the public comment processes. Our goal post-cleanup is “A River for All” where fish ,wildlife, industry, and the people and communities around the river thrive.