Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 5.7.14

8 | MAY 7, 2014 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM

Columbia Falls Throws Support

Just
Sayin’.

Behind CFAC Cleanup

"America cannot
continue to play
Community will urge
cowboy."
Celal Dede in an interview EPA, DEQ to clean up
with a German news agency
after arriving in Missoula shuttered aluminum
to arrange the transport of plant
his son Diren's body back to

Germany. Diren, a 17-year-old
German exchange student, By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
was shot dead after entering
somebody’s property.
The city of Columbia Falls has thrown
its support behind a plan to clean up the
shuttered Columbia Falls Aluminum
“The statue is an Company plant that the Environmental
important piece of the Protection Agency may designate a Super-
history and culture fund site.

at Big Mountain. On April 21, the Columbia Falls City
We don’t tear down Council authorized City Manager Susan
history just because Nicosia to write a letter to Gov. Steve Bull-
ock and the Montana Department of En-
it has some religious vironmental Quality asking to support
aspects.”
eforts to have the old plant added to the
EPA’s National Priorities List.
Eric Baxter, senior counsel A sign directs traic around the nearly empty parking area at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company build-
for the Becket Fund for “We’re in universal support of this ing in Columbia Falls. BEACON FILE PHOTO
Religious Liberty, which is cleanup and we want to get the EPA on this
representing the Knights of project as soon as possible,” said city coun-
Columbus and defending the cilor Mike Shepard, who worked at CFAC “WE’RE IN UNIVERSAL SUPPORT OF THIS CLEANUP AND WE
Big Mountain Jesus statue in the 1970s. Shepard has called the site a
before the Ninth Circuit “ticking time bomb.”
WANT TO GET THE EPA ON THIS PROJECT AS SOON AS
Court of Appeals.
On April 15, EPA and DEQ oicials held
a town hall meeting in Columbia Falls to POSSIBLE ” Columbia Falls City Councilor Mike Shepard

"Ryan is trying
discuss the results of a recent study that
to characterize found the land in and around the CFAC
plant contaminated with various metals
himself as a staunch and chemicals, including cyanide and lu- leaders have attempted to work out deals nic, lead and luoride were all found in the
conservative and oride. Oicials at the meeting, including with the Swiss commodities irm to reopen groundwater in and around the plant. The
that's just not his EPA site assessment manager Rob Parker, the plant, but the site has remained shut- EPA also sampled water in ive residen-
said there is enough evidence to desig- tered and many doubt it will ever reopen.
tial wells in a nearby neighborhood, called
record.”
nate the plant a Superfund site but that it In late 2012, Dee Brown, a Republican
Former U.S. representative “Aluminum City,” and cyanide was found
and gubernatorial candidate would not move forward without commu- state senator from Hungry Horse, went in two of the wells. The concentrations in
nity support. They urged local residents to before the Flathead County Commission both wells were below the Safe Drinking
Rick Hill talking about reach out to their elected leaders to voice and said the 120-acre CFAC site should be Water Act’s allowable limits, however it
Whiteish Republican Ryan their support for the project.
cleaned up and redeveloped. Soon after, at was enough for the EPA to want to take ad-
Zinke. Hill and two other The Anaconda Company opened the the urging of Sens. Max Baucus and Jon ditional samples. The results of those new
former GOP chairmen CFAC aluminum plant, located just north Tester, the EPA began studying the site in tests have not yet been produced. When
publicly opposed the former of Columbia Falls along the Flathead River, 2013.
they are, Nicosia says she will author the
state senator’s bid to win the
GOP nomination for U.S. in 1955 and the plant operated under vari- The study found various contamina- city’s letter to the state.
House.
ous owners until 2009, when the current tions around the site, especially in the “We’re just waiting for the inal re-
owner, Glencore, closed it. In the years fol- north and south percolation ponds and sults,” she said.
lowing the closure, politicians and local
the plant’s landill area. Cyanide, arse-
[email protected]

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