ER - Cultural resources versus toxics

Cultural resources versus toxics
by Wendy Butler, 10/20/2006

Historic artifacts and toxic chemicals are unwitting partners on Indian Island, which is located off Eureka on Humboldt Bay.

Eureka Community Development Department Environmental Planner Lisa Shikany said that the final environmental impact report required before the Table Bluff Reservation-Wiyot Tribe develops their portion of the island should address both the parcel’s cultural resources and its hazardous materials.

“The hazard section is going to have to very thoroughly address what is there now, what will be removed, what will remain (and) how the public heath and safety will be protected,” she said during an interview on Thursday.

The city of Eureka now has the Wiyot Tribe’s EIR administrative draft, which is not a public document. The city is in the process of reviewing and commenting on the draft.

The tribe made a private purchase of 1.5 acres of the island in 2000.

The city transferred the eastern portion of the island to the Wiyot tribe in 2004. That transfer was with the condition that “the ownership of the subject property herein granted shall not be transferred to any third party, nor shall the property in any other manner be placed into trust status pursuant to federal law unless mutually agreed by the city of Eureka and the owner,” the deed states.

Since the tribe chose not to put the island into trust, it remains subject to the city’s local zone ordinance, Shikany said.

In the next several weeks, the city will return the EIR draft to the tribe with suggestions for changes “to reflect the city’s judgment,” she said.

“The EIR ultimately needs to be the city’s EIR,” Shikany said.

The Indian Island parcel is a National Historic Landmark. That is why its soil remediation plan is more complex than other bay properties, Wiyot Tribe Environmental Director Andrea Davis previously told The Eureka Reporter.

Davis could not be reached for an additional comment on Thursday.

The Tuluwat Village site on the island was the center of the Wiyot’s cultural world and the place upon which the tribe performed its “world renewal ceremony.” On Feb. 26, 1860, the day after a ceremony, a group of Eureka men traveled to the island and massacred close to 100 Wiyot men, women and children.

The island has been the site of a ship repair facility or comparable businesses since the 1870s, Shikany said.

Davis has said that the goal is to reinstate the ceremony, as well as give “cultural and environmental education” tours to the public.

The property is zoned “natural resources.” It will require a conditional-use permit for the Wiyot’s plans, as well as a coastal-development permit, Shikany said.

Finding a way to protect cultural resources while addressing public safety is one of the biggest challenges for the tribe and, ultimately, the city, she said.

Shikany said that a certain amount of hazardous waste will need to be removed, but some of it will remain, therefore mitigation is needed.

Davis has said that capping was an option for a small part of the parcel.

Shikany is the lead staffer on this project, but will consult with others in the city as needed, such as for traffic issues and other issues out of her expertise. She has also been working closely with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, as has Davis.

“We’re relying on the regional board to direct what is appropriate and what is not appropriate,” Shikany said. The EIR will ultimately have to “address measures to either remove the hazard or to mitigate it such that its existence will not pose a public health and safety hazard for people coming onto the island.”

Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved

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Wiyot Tribe thanks all who helped with erosion control
8/19/2006

Dear Editor,

The Wiyot Tribe would like to offer our most sincere gratitude and appreciation to the local businesses and organizations that volunteered their time, material and staff to help with the Indian Island erosion control project this past spring and summer.

Thank you to Rick Borges and staff at Sierra Pacific Industries, Justin Zabel and staff and Mercer Fraser Co., Greg Dale and staff at Coast Seafoods Co., Leroy Zerlang and crew, Jim McArthur and his California Conservation Corps crew and Julia Hostler and her Hoopa Tribal Civilian Community Corps crews.

Thanks to these businesses and organizations and their ability to go over and beyond the call of duty, the Wiyot Tribe was able to successfully complete the erosion control project as part of our larger effort to steward Indian Island toward health and recovery.

Thank you for standing by us through the rain and all the other challenges we encountered along the way.

Andrea Davis
Environmental Director, Wiyot Tribe
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.