Tester asks Glencore about its intentions

Some government officials are fired up about the need to move forward in cleaning up the shuttered Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. smelter site below Teakettle Mountain. Others say they want more information.

Sen. Jon Tester let his position be known in a June 3 letter to two Glencore managers, Patrick Wilson and Charles Watenphul, expressing his “ongoing concerns about Glencore’s intentions with regard to the CFAC site.”

While he said he was encouraged by an earlier e-mail from Glencore, CFAC’s owner, committing them to an open dialogue, Tester noted that “the community remains understandably concerned about the future of CFAC.”

“As you know, the Environmental Protection Agency has conducted preliminary testing of the site and verified increased contamination in the groundwater and in some of the property’s wells,” Tester said.

Tester also commented on rePlan, the Canadian planning firm Glencore hired to look at the CFAC facility.

“As a result of this recent activity, several constituents have contacted me to inquire about Glencore’s intentions,” Tester said. “I share their interest in knowing what, if any, plans you are considering for the CFAC property at this juncture, and I look forward to a prompt update from you.”

Tester made some additional comments during his weekly call to reporters on June 4.

“I’d love to see it reopen,” he said. “But they seem to be in competition with themselves.”

Tester noted that the Bonneville Power Administration offered Glencore what he thought were fair and equitable power contracts to restart the plant, but to no avail.

“I’m not a big fan of Glencore at this point in my political career,” he said.

Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia told the city council on June 2 that she had sent a letter to Montana Department of Environmental Quality director Tracy Stone-Manning asking DEQ to meet with Glencore about potential contamination at the smelter site and asking that Glencore fence off contaminated ponds to protect wildlife.

The Flathead County Commissioners, however, said they wouldn’t send a similar letter, Nicosia pointed out.

Councilor Mike Shepard reacted harshly to the news. He said constituents had complained about the commissioners’ decision, and he recalled commissioner Gary Krueger once saying he was reluctant to tell Glencore what to do because it was a property rights issue. Shepard urged members of the public to start making phone calls.

“What do we as a council do next?” he asked. “The plant is out in the county. Should we circumvent the county? What would happen if something major happened to the river? All we’re asking for is a letter requesting additional investigation.”

Nicosia said the commissioners want more information before acting, even though the EPA’s latest report came out in April.

“Commissioner Pam Holmquist said she was surprised to hear there was contamination in groundwater,” Nicosia said.

Meanwhile, the city of Whitefish has sent a letter to DEQ echoing Columbia Falls’ concerns, while city officials in Kalispell had asked for “talking points” and information before drafting a similar letter.

Nicosia said she also asked for a letter of support from Montana West Economic Development, but MWED wanted more information first.

Nicosia said she told the rePlan consultant hired by Glencore that the city wants the smelter site cleaned up,. She also said she planned to contact the Flathead Economic Development Authority about the matter.

“We still haven’t received the results from the second round of testing the EPA did at residential wells near the plant,” Nicosia noted. “The county commissioners say they want to see those results, too.”

City councilor Darin Fisher said he agreed with Shepard’s frustration.

“I saw commissioner Holmquist at the meeting with EPA, but I didn’t see her at the later meeting with DEQ,” he said.

City councilor Dave Petersen pointed out that the cleanup will be a long process.

“The train has left the station, and the county will eventually get on board,” he said. “They’ll either play catch-up or there’ll be an election.”

Petersen recommended getting as many groups on board as possible — the Flathead Lakers, Glacier National Park and many others.