The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently offered tours of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) site. They explained to citizens the proposed cleanup plan for the main contamination sites of the West Landfill and Wet Scrubber Sludge Pond – the main sites of cyanide, fluoride, and arsenic contamination. While progress is finally being made to clean up the groundwater, it is important to reflect on the impact this legacy pollution was wrought on people.
The CFAC contamination site, the Libby asbestos site, Missoula’s Smurfit-Stone Mill, Anaconda’s copper smelter, and, of course, Butte’s Berkeley Pit. Not to mention the many wood treatment plants in Great Falls, Helena and Somers that leached creosote and formaldehyde among other pollutants into groundwater and rivers. In each of these places, workers and nearby residents had higher rates of cancer than surrounding areas.
When the framers of Montana’s State Constitution gathered in 1972, they understood that this situation was unsustainable. We couldn’t keep building things that made soil and groundwater toxic and cancerous for eternity. That’s why they included in our state constitution the express “right to a clean and healthful environment.” This watershed clause has catalyzed a suite of laws that protect our citizens and environment. Industry can and has still flourished, but now it operates with foresight and safety planning guaranteed.
It is important as Montanans to remember this legacy pollution, celebrate our constitution’s forward-thinking protections, and vote like it. This coming November we will vote to elect two Montana Supreme Court Justices. I will be voting for Judge Jerry Lynch and Judge Katherine Bidegaray because they are proven defenders of the state constitution, who understand the history of our legal precedent, and are committed to upholding it. I hope you join me in supporting these judges.
Chris Amundson
Columbia Falls