A Longview City Councilman is calling out his council peers for sending a letter to the governor asking the state to place a high priority on cleaning up the polluted Reynolds Metals site, saying the letter was motivated by a desire to block a proposed coal export terminal.
Councilman Chuck Wallace questioned why the letter mentions the close proximity of the industrial contamination to the Mint Farm wells, which will serve as Longview’s water supply starting in 2012.
The City Council’s letter recommends that Ecology “demonstrate its renewed commitment” by entering a new binding contract with Alcoa. The letter specifies the contract should have enforceable deadlines, and until cleanup is finished, new projects should not be considered for the site.