EPA officially proposes listing CFAC smelter
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced March 24 that it officially had proposed adding the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company smelter site to the National Priorities List, making it eligible for additional study and cleanup resources under EPA’s Superfund program.
The proposed listing will be subject to a 60-day public review and comment period beginning March 26.
The city of Columbia Falls, Gov. Steve Bullock, Sen. Jon Tester and numerous community organizations supported putting the site on the Superfund list.
The federal Superfund program investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the U.S. to protect public health and the environment.
The Superfund law gives the EPA the authority to clean up releases of hazardous substances with the goal of returning them to productive use.
Contaminants that have so far been detected at the CFAC site include cyanide, fluoride and metals, including arsenic, chromium, lead and selenium. The contaminants were found at the site in soils, surface ponds and groundwater.
The EPA says the contaminants pose a risk to nearby residential drinking water wells and to the Flathead River.
The EPA and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality have determined that a comprehensive investigation of the site is needed to develop effective cleanup actions to address these risks.
“The EPA will continue to work closely with the local community, the state of Montana and the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company to ensure a comprehensive investigation of the site is completed,” EPA Region 8 administrator Shaun McGrath said. “These efforts will identify cleanup actions needed to address human health and environmental concerns and will advance the community’s interest in the redevelopment of this important property along the Flathead River.”
The National Priorities List contains the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. The list serves as the basis for prioritizing both enforcement actions and long-term EPA Superfund cleanup funding.
Only sites on the list are eligible for such funding. A site’s listing neither imposes a financial obligation on EPA nor assigns liability to any party.
A 60-day public comment period on the proposed Superfund listing for Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. smelter site begins March 26 and will last until May 25.
During that time, comments can be submitted online at www.regulations.gov and following the online instructions using FDMS Docket No. EPA-HQ-SFUND-2015-0139; or mailed to Docket Coordinator, Headquarters, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CERCLA Docket Office, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20460; or e-mailed to superfund.docket@epa.gov.
The Federal Register notice and supporting documents for the proposed listing are online at: www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm.