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Union Pacific outlines weekly testing plan for Dunsmuir river cleanup; residents press for faster alerts
Summary
Union Pacific and Unified Command announced an open house and said initial testing found "no harm to health or fish or wildlife" and committed to weekly testing and website updates; residents urged more frequent or event-triggered sampling and clearer public advisories during excavation.
Union Pacific Railroad representatives told the Dunsmuir City Council on Aug. 22 that remediation work along the river is ongoing and that Unified Command is committed to weekly water testing and public updates. Peggy Egbujai, identified as Union Pacific's senior director of public affairs, said the company will post testing documents to the EPA and the state's GeoTracker site and invited the public to an open house on Aug. 26.
"The testing did come out that there, specifically, is no harm to health or fish or wildlife," Egbujai said, describing the initial results and explaining the team will continue monitoring as excavation proceeds. Council members and residents pressed for more frequent testing, event-triggered notifications when turbidity increases, and clearer local communication; one resident read guidance advising avoidance of river contact when visible oil sheen or cloudy water appears.
Egbujai told council Unified Command will test weekly and upload results; she also said additional water barriers had been installed and that teams shut down work when turbidity rose. Council members asked whether testing would occur irregularly or at random times so that work schedules do not bias results. The Unified Command representative said they would monitor excavation and shut down when turbidity increases, and that weekly testing will be the baseline going forward. An open house and posted testing reports were offered as next steps for transparency.
