SKAMANIA, Wash. — Contractors working on a salmon ecosystem restoration project along the Columbia River uncovered a pocket of black oil while excavating a historic rail line, prompting an immediate response to keep the material out of the water.
The Washington Department of Ecology said the discovery happened Tuesday, Sept. 2, at a project site adjacent to the Columbia River, downriver from Skamania, on property owned by the University of Oregon.
The work was being done by contractors hired by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe.
Ecology said work was stopped after the oil was found, and equipment including boom and absorbent oil pads was deployed to prevent oil from entering the river…