Tours of Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site on tap

The Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. will have an open house and driving tour of the old plant site off Aluminum Drive Sept. 18.

Tours will run from noon to 4 p.m. and are open to the public. The old aluminum plant has been demolished and where once the largest building in Montana sat is no more.

Today it’s a large gravel pad and the company, along with the Environmental Protection Agency, are working on plans to eventually clean up the site, under the federal Superfund Act.

Testing has shown contaminants at the site — most notably heavy concentrations of cyanide and fluoride near old dumps.

After the tours, a meeting of the CFAC community liaison panel will commence at 6 p.m. at the Snowberry Conference room at the North Forty Resort off Highway 40. At the panel meeting company officials and representatives of the EPA will give updates on the cleanup status and new reports.

Folks who would like to take the tour are asked to RSVP by calling toll free 1 (877)-384-7036.