BUTTE — Montana residents who signed contracts agreeing to accept $1,000 in exchange for not suing the Atlantic Richfield Co. over future mine waste cleanup will have the chance to reconsider, county officials said.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Chief Executive Bill Everett told The Montana Standard (bit.ly/2nPtFQ2) that about 250 Anaconda residents received the contracts, and about 100 signed them without understanding the rights they were giving up. The agreement not to sue was binding on any future owners of the property.
Everett said Wednesday that Arco will void the agreements for anyone who wants to withdraw. He spoke at a community meeting organized by law firms representing property owners within the Superfund site contaminated by waste and smoke from a copper smelter that closed in 1980.
Arco is seeking access for a second cleanup of about 1,000 properties in Anaconda, EPA Superfund project manager Charlie Coleman said. The initial cleanup addressed arsenic, which was believed to be the only contaminant of concern. However, later tests uncovered elevated lead levels. Exposure to lead can cause developmental delays in children.
Coleman said the work could continue until 2021.
Everett said that he and other county officials who are in frequent contact with Arco over the cleanup did not know the letters were being sent.
“That trust was tarnished through this process,” Everett said.
A Bozeman attorney, Justin Stalpes, suggested Arco was seeking an insurance policy against future lawsuits because nearly 100 residents in nearby Opportunity are suing to force arsenic cleanup in areas that don’t qualify for cleanup under EPA standards.