Members of the public who want to comment on the proposed listing and cleanup of the shuttered Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant site have until June 2 to submit input.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to add the site to the federal Superfund Program’s National Priorities List.
Click here to visit the public comment site.
Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the country’s most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites to protect public health and the environment.
The proposed Superfund site, located approximately two miles northeast of Columbia Falls, operated as a primary aluminum reduction facility between 1955 and 2009. Contaminants detected at the site include cyanide, fluoride and metals, including arsenic, chromium, lead, and selenium. These contaminants are present in soils, surface ponds, and groundwater at the site and pose a risk to nearby wells and the Flathead River. EPA and the State of Montana have determined that a comprehensive investigation of the site is necessary to inform effective cleanup actions to address these risks.
“EPA will continue to work closely with the local community, the state of Montana, and the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company to ensure a comprehensive investigation of the site is completed,” Shaun McGrath, EPA’s regional administrator in Denver, said in a statement. “These efforts will identify cleanup actions needed to address human health and environmental concerns and will advance the community’s interest in the redevelopment of this important property along the Flathead River.”