U.S. environmental regulators said containing toxic waste at a former aluminum smelter in Columbia Falls remains the best plan to protect the environment and human health.
A community group has pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove all contaminated soil from the site.
The EPA responded in a letter saying that removing waste from the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company superfund site would expose workers to hazards like cyanide gas.
Officials said it would take up to five years and thousands of trucks and trains to transport contaminated soil 500 miles to a certified landfill in Oregon.
They said that would expose other communities along the way.
The EPA said hauling the waste away would cost between $624 million to $1.4 billion.
The agency prefers to pour an underground concrete wall to contain the waste at the CFAC site. That plan will cost nearly $60 million.
-
Regulators plan public meetings on Columbia Falls Aluminum cleanup. Governor extends the window for veterans and low-income homeowners to apply for tax assistance. Land trust announces preservation of 122 acres east of the National Bison Range. -
Montana legislators are urging Congress to help fund a program to extract rare earth minerals from the contaminated waters of Butte’s Berkeley Pit. The Environmental Quality Council is penning a letter asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to hold off on approving a clean-up plan for a superfund site in Columbia Falls. -
Columbia Falls residents are questioning a plan to clean up a former aluminum smelter. Residents say they want contaminants removed, not buried.
-
A federal judge has ruled that a former owner of an aluminum smelter outside of Columbia Falls is partially responsible for the financial costs of cleaning up the hazardous waste at the site. -
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks hopes to buy nearly 800 acres of private forest lands along the Flathead River. The agency is holding a public meeting about the project on Aug. 26. -
Work to clean up two contaminated ponds bordering the Flathead River at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Superfund site was completed earlier this…
