Montana environmental officials are moving forward with clean-up efforts at a public park in Deer Lodge.
Remediation at Arrowstone Park began in the 1990s to cover heavy metal and arsenic contamination caused by a massive flood in 1908 that washed mine waste from Butte throughout the Clark Fork River flood plain.
Decades after the initial cleanup, arsenic and metals are rising back up to the surface in patches of barren dirt called slickens. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said the park is safe for public use, but advises staying away from bare dirt.
The DEQ said it will put up warning signs and a temporary soil cover in the coming weeks before beginning cleanup activities in late summer or early fall 2024.