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Richest Hill Episode 05: Out Of The Frying Pan, Into The Fire

Richest Hill: a podcast about the past, present and future of one of America's largest Superfund sites in Butte, MT
Richest Hill: a podcast about the past, present and future of one of America's largest Superfund sites in Butte, MT

From Evel Knievel to a 'Great Flood' and on to the dawning of the Superfund era, Episode 5 looks at the origins of the government program designed to force whoever made the mess to clean it up.

Did you know that when Superfund arrived in Montana, it didn’t start on the Butte Hill, blanketed in raw mine dumps? Or even at the giant Berkeley Pit, left for dead and flooding with acid mine drainage. It started 120 miles downstream of Butte with tainted tap water at an old hydroelectric dam just outside the liberal stronghold college town of Missoula.

Learn more now with Episode 5: Out of the Frying Pan, Into The Fire.

Nora Saks is a reporter and producer based in Butte, MT.
Explore the places where we come together and fall apart. The Wide Open brings nuanced reporting on under-covered environmental issues. Our deep storytelling provides context to the forces shaping our lives — with plenty of adventure, wildlife and rich sound along the way.
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