Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 6.25.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS JUNE 25, 2014 | 15 Glencore Responds to Tester’s CFAC Letter
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Company promises open dialogue regarding EPA cleanup, commitment to site’s future
By BEACON STAFF
A manager for Glencore, the company that owns the Co- lumbia Falls Aluminum Company site, has promised it is com- mitted to a “long term, sustainable solution” for the shuttered plant.
The statement came in response to a strongly worded let- ter from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, who on June 3 wrote to two Glen- core managers, Patrick Wilson and Charles Watenphul, in- quiring about the company’s plans for the future of the plant, expressing his “ongoing concerns about Glencore’s intentions with regard to the CFAC site,” and explaining that “the com- munity remains understandably concerned about the future of CFAC.”
Glencore addressed the fate of CFAC in a letter to Tester on June 17.
“Our commitment to meaningful and open dialogue in this regards remains unchanged,” Watenphul stated.
Glencore is aware of the preliminary testing that was con- ducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the re- sulting report and community meeting, he said, and the com- pany continues to analyze the potential implications of the report.
“You will appreciate that these are complex issues and we need time to ensure that they are properly assessed with a view to formulating the best sustainable solution for the site. Please also be aware that CFAC has notifed the previous owner of the property, Atlantic Richfield Company and BP plc, about their obligations in respect of any potential remediation of the site.”
Recent reports from the state Department of Environmen- tal Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have shown the site could be eligible for Superfund status, but Glencore, a Swiss commodities firm, has never explained what it would like to do with the property.
In the years following the plant’s closure in 2009, politi- cians and local leaders, including Tester, have attempted to work out deals with Glencore to reopen the plant, but the site has remained shuttered, and appears more likely to be the sub- ject of a cleanup effort than it is to reopen.
BEACON FILE PHOTO
In April, EPA and DEQ officials held a town hall meeting in Columbia Falls to discuss the results of a recent study that found the land in and around the CFAC plant was contaminat- ed with various metals and chemicals, including cyanide and fluoride. The EPA advised CFAC that the follow up sampling from the neighborhood wells did not contain any detections of cyanide.
“We understand that the EPA has sent letters to residents advising them of this result,” Watenphul said.
Glencore has appointed rePlan to help get a better under- standing of the impact on the various stakeholders, he said.
Tester has been critical of the entire process up until now.
“As a result of this recent activity, several constituents have contacted me to inquire about Glencore’s intentions. I share their interest in knowing what, if any, plans you are con- sidering for the CFAC property at this juncture, and I look for- ward to a prompt update from you.”
Watenphul responded by reassuring Tester that the com- pany is intent on moving forward with a plan.
“I would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that should CFAC embark on any path that would have major long term implications for the property; this will be communicated to all stakeholders promptly,” he wrote.
Glencore plans to meet with the EPA and local officials next month, according to Watenphul.
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Deadly Start to Summer on the Roads
By BEACON STAFF
It was a deadly start to the summer in western Montana, though the year is proving to be less fatal for drivers statewide than 2013.
On June 22, a 54-year-old woman from Troy died in a mo- torcycle crash on Secondary Highway 508 in Northwest Mon- tana.
The Montana Highway Patrol says the woman was south- bound at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday when she failed to negotiate a left-hand turn near Yaak. The motorcycle went off the road and rolled over. The driver was not wearing a helmet and she died on the way to the hospital.
The woman’s name has not been released.
On June 20, fishermen found the body of Cleve Malm- strom, 41, of Whitefish, in the Missouri River. The Cascade County sheriff’s office says two fishermen discovered the body south of Cascade that Friday. Authorities believe he slipped and fell into the river. He was wearing waders, but not a life jacket.
Malmstrom’s raft was found tied up along the shore.
One of Malmstrom’s dogs was recovered, but a chocolate Labrador named Deuce ran off when approached by emergen- cy personnel.
On June 19, an entire family from Townsend, including three children, and a small town fire chief were killed in a fiery crash between the family’s truck and an oncoming fire engine
on Highway 12 outside of Helena.
The children were 4-year-old Breighton Paul Boegli and
3-year-old twins Peighton Charles Boegli and Madison Marie Boegli, Jefferson County Undersheriff Mike Johnson said.
Johnson identified the adults as Matthew Carl Boegli, 29, and Crystal Marie Ross, 30, of Townsend.
Three Forks Fire Chief Todd Rummel was driving the fire engine when the wreck occurred, and died in the crash.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
And on June 16, a 16-year-old boy from Browning was killed and a 16-year-old girl was injured in a pickup rollover on BIA Route 1 near Browning.
The Montana Highway Patrol says the boy was traveling too fast for road conditions, which included standing water, when he lost control of the pickup at about 3:20 p.m.
The pickup went into the ditch and rolled one and three- quarters times. Both were thrown from the pickup. The boy died at the scene, while the girl was taken to the hospital in Browning and flown to another hospital for further treatment.
According to Montana Highway Patrol, there have been 58 crashes resulting in 68 deaths on Montana’s roadways from Jan. 1 to June 23. In the same time span in 2013, there were 85 crashes and 99 deaths.
In the Kalispell district – MHP District 6 – there have been 6 deaths, compared to last year’s 17. The district with the most deaths so far this year is District 3 in Butte, with 17.
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