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The Atlantic Richfield Company (AR) has agreed to complete its cleanup of the Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site (Site) in Deer Lodge County, Montana, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice announced today. The state of Montana, on behalf of the Department of Environmental Quality, is also a signatory to the consent decree that was lodged today in the U.S. District Court in Butte, Montana. AR is a subsidiary of British Petroleum.
“I was born in Anaconda the same year the smelter closed and while I never saw smoke coming out of the Smokestack that still stands over Anaconda, I know what it represents,” said U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich for the District of Montana. “It is a symbol representing the hard work of many Anacondans, including members of my family, that built our town. But it’s also a symbol of a Superfund site that has existed for far too long. If the Smokestack represents our past, this consent decree represents our future.”
Decades of copper smelting activity at the town of Anaconda polluted the soils in yards, commercial and industrial areas, pastures and open spaces throughout the 300-square-mile Anaconda Site. This pollution has in turn contributed to the contamination of creeks and other surface waters at the Site, as well as of alluvial and bedrock ground water. The closure of smelting operations in 1980 left large volumes of smelter slag, flue dust and hazardous rock tailings that have had to be secured through a variety of remediation methods.
Under the settlement, AR will finally complete numerous remedial activities that it has undertaken at the Anaconda Site pursuant to EPA administrative orders going back to the 1990s. Among other actions, AR will finish remediating residential yards in the towns of Anaconda and Opportunity, clean up soils in upland areas above Anaconda and eventually effect the closure of remaining slag piles at the Site. The estimated cost of the remaining Site work, including operation and maintenance activities intended to protect remediated lands over the long term, is $83.1 million. AR will pay $48 million to reimburse the EPA Superfund Program for EPA and Department of Justice response costs and will pay approximately $185,000 to the U.S. Forest Service for oversight of future remedial activities on Forest Service-administered lands at the Site.
“This settlement highlights the Agency’s vigorous enforcement to ensure the complete cleanup of the Anaconda Smelter Superfund site,” said EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Larry Starfield. “The work performed under this settlement will further protect the environment and the health of the people who live, work, and play in this community.”
The consent decree filed today is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice website. Under Montana state law, the Department of Environmental Quality is separately required to put the Consent Decree out for public comment. The state’s public comment period will run concurrently with the federal public comment period. The consent decree will be available on DEQ’s website.
Atlantic Richfield to Finish Anaconda Smelter Cleanup
Click to Enlarge.
The Atlantic Richfield Company (AR) has agreed to complete its cleanup of the Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site (Site) in Deer Lodge County, Montana, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice announced today. The state of Montana, on behalf of the Department of Environmental Quality, is also a signatory to the consent decree that was lodged today in the U.S. District Court in Butte, Montana. AR is a subsidiary of British Petroleum.
“I was born in Anaconda the same year the smelter closed and while I never saw smoke coming out of the Smokestack that still stands over Anaconda, I know what it represents,” said U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich for the District of Montana. “It is a symbol representing the hard work of many Anacondans, including members of my family, that built our town. But it’s also a symbol of a Superfund site that has existed for far too long. If the Smokestack represents our past, this consent decree represents our future.”
Decades of copper smelting activity at the town of Anaconda polluted the soils in yards, commercial and industrial areas, pastures and open spaces throughout the 300-square-mile Anaconda Site. This pollution has in turn contributed to the contamination of creeks and other surface waters at the Site, as well as of alluvial and bedrock ground water. The closure of smelting operations in 1980 left large volumes of smelter slag, flue dust and hazardous rock tailings that have had to be secured through a variety of remediation methods.
Under the settlement, AR will finally complete numerous remedial activities that it has undertaken at the Anaconda Site pursuant to EPA administrative orders going back to the 1990s. Among other actions, AR will finish remediating residential yards in the towns of Anaconda and Opportunity, clean up soils in upland areas above Anaconda and eventually effect the closure of remaining slag piles at the Site. The estimated cost of the remaining Site work, including operation and maintenance activities intended to protect remediated lands over the long term, is $83.1 million. AR will pay $48 million to reimburse the EPA Superfund Program for EPA and Department of Justice response costs and will pay approximately $185,000 to the U.S. Forest Service for oversight of future remedial activities on Forest Service-administered lands at the Site.
“This settlement highlights the Agency’s vigorous enforcement to ensure the complete cleanup of the Anaconda Smelter Superfund site,” said EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Larry Starfield. “The work performed under this settlement will further protect the environment and the health of the people who live, work, and play in this community.”
The consent decree filed today is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice website. Under Montana state law, the Department of Environmental Quality is separately required to put the Consent Decree out for public comment. The state’s public comment period will run concurrently with the federal public comment period. The consent decree will be available on DEQ’s website.