1985-01-08 Char-Koosta News

              CHAR-KOOSTA
Newspaper of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 18
THE SHOOTING MONTH
JANUARY 8, 1985 |
Vandalism to substation causes blackout, PCB spill
Parts of the southern half of the Reservation were subjected to a blackout December 27 that lasted up to seven cold hours in some areas.
The cause of the outage was seven bullets, surmissed to be from a ".38 special", fired intoa$300,000 electrical
The name Char-Koosta is derived from Chief Charlo's and Chief Koostatah's names. They were the Tribes' last traditional chiefs.
transformer near Charlo. The vandalism also caused 1,500 of 2,100 gallons of oil containing polychlorinated bi-phenyl, or PCB, to spill from the damaged transformer and contaminate the substation grounds and a-bout three square feet beyond its fence, Bearhead Swaney (Air Quality) told the Tribal Council December 28.
Tribal health officials are concerned about the contamination danger posed by the spilled PCB, should a thaw allow the cancer-causing chemical to seep into nearby Post Creek.
There was also concern expressed about whether or not the FIP clean-up crew was adequately protected a-gainst contact with the chemical.
Flathead Irrigation Project officials said the spill had been contained around the immediate substation area by close to two dozen FIP employees after the damage was discovered. The site was put under 24-hour guard
Quarterly meeting full of information, but not that full of spectators
pending federal investigation
Disposal of the spilled oil remained undecided by presstime. Depending on its PCB concentration, said to be very low by FIP, it will be disposed of in a state-approved landfill or a federal toxic waste disposal area
Regardless of the concentration, it will not be disposed of within the Reservation's boundaries, the Council asserted.
The transformer, an older model than the non- PCB containing modern version, was damaged beyond repair.
During the first hours of the blackout the "moccasin grapevine" attributed its cause to someone shooting at Kerr Dam and/or a car crash in Charlo. Radio broadcasts during the night gave no cause, just the message that" a power outage is expected until midnight" in parts of St Ignatius, Charlo, Dixon and Arlee
If you missed last weeks quarterly meeting - and all but about 40 Tribal members did - you missed the latest news about the PCB spill, Melcher's federal magistrate bill, the Kerr Dam lease negotiations, the road opening program, the Hot Springs bathhouse, and next month's secretarial election
On that latter-most topic A series of district meetings will be called within the next several weeks to explain why Tribal
members will be asked to change portions of the Tribal Constitution February 23.
In the meantime, be watching local newspapers for the election notice from the BIA, and be watching for the next Char-Koosta for the schedule of district meetings, plus background information about the issues, and a fuller report about the quarterly.