SEMS-RM DOCID # 100022265 CARSON RIVER MERCURY SUPERFUND SITE Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy August 2020 Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ i List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Document Overview and Purpose ........................................................................................................... 2 Site Background .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Fishing in the Carson River and Nearby Areas: Risk and Risk Communication ............................... 8 Conversations with Local Stakeholders and Community Members ................................................. 18 Ongoing Approaches to Preventing Consumption of Fish: National Perspective .......................... 25 Five-Year Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy ..................................................................... 27 Strategy Overview ......................................................................................................................... 27 1. Review the State Fish Advisory, Update as Needed, and Clarify the Fish Advisory for Each Major CRMS Water Body .................................................................................................. 28 2. Ensure Fish Advisory Messages are Consistent Across Agencies and Platforms......... 29 3. Reevaluate Fish Stocking Practices for the Carson River and Lahontan Reservoir and Revise as Necessary ...................................................................................................................... 29 4. Improve Online Access to Information about the Fish Advisory .................................. 30 5. Expand Use of Physical Signs ............................................................................................. 30 6. Diversify Signs to Target More Audiences ........................................................................ 31 7. Develop Fish Advisory Information for Use in Existing Outreach Products and Develop New Fish Advisory Outreach Products Targeting Additional Audiences ............. 32 8. Change the Provisions or Better Enforce the Special Conditions of the Sacramento Blackfish Permit to Ensure that Fish from the Lahontan Reservoir are Not Consumed .... 35 9. Conduct Outreach on Consumption of Sacramento Blackfish from Lahontan Reservoir (if the Permit is Unchanged or Special Conditions Are Not Enforced) .............. 36 10. Develop and Implement a Fish Advisory Outreach Communication and Social Networking Schedule ................................................................................................................... 36 11. Establish a Fish Advisory Outreach Monitoring and Evaluation Program .................. 38 12. Consider Other Innovative or Specialized Approaches to Address Risk ...................... 39 Next Steps for Strategy Implementation ................................................................................... 40 References .................................................................................................................................................. 54 Additional Resources ............................................................................................................................... 57 Appendix A ............................................................................................................................................... 61 Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy – Carson River Mercury Superfund Site i List of Acronyms and Abbreviations CDPH California Department of Public Health CRMS Carson River Mercury Site CWSD Carson Water Subconservancy District EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FDA U.S Food and Drug Administration FS feasibility study GIS Geographic Information Systems LTSRP Long-Term Sampling and Response Plan mg/kg Milligrams Per Kilogram NDEP Nevada Division of Environmental Protection NDOW Nevada Department of Wildlife NDPBH Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health NPL National Priorities List OU Operable Unit ppm Parts Per Million PSA Public Service Announcement RI remedial investigation TASC Technical Assistance Services for Communities TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load WIC Women, Infants, and Children Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy – Carson River Mercury Superfund Site ii Acknowledgments The following document benefited from collaboration with and substantial input from the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Nevada State Parks, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and EPA Region 9. In addition, the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and several federal, state and local organizations and individuals provided valuable insights about how best to improve fish advisory risk communication related to the Carson River and nearby affected water bodies. Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy – Carson River Mercury Superfund Site 1 Document Overview and Purpose The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested the Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) program to develop a five-year fish advisory risk communication strategy for the Carson River Mercury Site (CRMS) in Nevada. The strategy is intended to help EPA, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) and their partner agencies and organizations deliver appropriate risk messages and outreach products to avoid the consumption of mercury-contaminated fish. The strategy builds off current best practices and conversations held with local stakeholders and community members in 2019. The strategy is focused on reaching additional populations and filling gaps where information is not being received or well understood. Figure 1. View of the Carson River east of Carson City. To inform this strategy, TASC reviewed relevant site materials and existing research on fish consumption advisories, risk messages and social marketing techniques. TASC reached out to local stakeholders and community members for their perspectives and advice on fish consumption, advisories and outreach methods. TASC visited the CRMS with EPA and NDEP staff to view fishing access points, observe signage, and talk with local stakeholders and community members in person to better understand the affected community and fishing practices. In mid-July 2019, a popular time for fishing in the area, TASC spoke with community members accessing the Carson River and other affected water bodies. While these discussions showed that people generally seem to know about the importance of not consuming fish in this area, this report identifies opportunities for enhancing communication of these risks and clarifying the message so that people continue to avoid eating mercury- contaminated fish. This document is divided into two primary parts: 1) background sections that describe the CRMS, the contamination, the fish advisory resulting from the contamination and the fish advisory’s effectiveness; and 2) a recommendations section focused on proposals to increase the effectiveness of the fish advisory and outreach and a five-year strategy for EPA, NDEP and their partners to implement. This section includes a detailed table summarizing the strategy.1 1 This document is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) program under Contract No.: EP-W-13-015 with contractor Skeo. This strategy is funded by EPA’s TASC program. Its contents do not necessarily reflect the policies, actions or positions of EPA. Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy – Carson River Mercury Superfund Site 2 Site Background Location The CRMS begins near Carson City and extends downstream to the Lahontan Valley, covering more than a 130-mile length of the Carson River. It includes about 236 former mill sites and contaminated soil, waterways, sediments, fish, wild plants and waterfowl. The CRMS encompasses areas where mercury contamination has come to be due to erosion from the mill sites, including the 13 historic mills on the banks of Washoe Lake.2 The CRMS spans parts of Carson City, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Washoe Counties. See Tables 1 and 2 for more information about each county. The largest cities within or near the CRMS are Carson City, Virginia City, Dayton and Fallon. Naval Air Station Fallon, supporting over 3,000 active duty personnel and other employees, is also located just outside of Fallon. Although over a half million people live in the five counties listed, most of them reside outside the Carson River floodplain and CRMS boundaries. EPA added the CRMS to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990. Figure 2. CRMS site map (Source: EPA). 2 The Washoe Lake system includes Big and Little Washoe Lakes and the headwaters of Steamboat Creek, a tributary of the Truckee River. Fish Advisory Risk Communication Strategy – Carson River Mercury Superfund Site 3 Table 1. Key Statistics for CRMS Counties Compared with State Statistics Washoe Carson City Storey Lyon Churchill Nevada Population 445,551 54,219 3,891 52,303 24,022 2,887,725 Male 50.3% 51.3% 48.7% 50.5% 50.7% 50.2% Female 49.7% 48.7% 51.3% 49.5%