EPA meetings on CFAC cleanup are next week
This is one of the few buildings remaining at the CFAC site. The company and developer Mick Ruis announced an agreement for Ruis to purchase 2,400 acres of land at the former aluminum plant site, including warehouses like the one shown.
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to be in Columbia Falls next week for a series of community meetings on a proposed action for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. cleanup plan.
The EPA is expected to hold an open house at the high school cafeteria from 6 to 8 p.m. June 28, then again Wednesday June 29 from noon to 2 p.m. and then there will be a liaison panel meeting from 6 to 8 p.m.
The meetings are all open to the public.
In addition, EPA regional administrator KC Becker is expected to tour the site on June 30 as well.
The Hungry Horse News was not directly notified by the EPA of any of the meetings, despite being on many email contact lists over the years. The newspaper was notified by city officials.
CFAC in 2021 released a remedial investigation/feasibility study that suggested a cleanup plan that would consolidate and contain waste at the plant through the use of a “slurry wall” that would contain waste leaking out of old landfills, dumps and ponds. That plan has a price tag of about $57 million.
The so-called “waste in place” plan has drawn criticism from the Columbia Falls City Council.
Sen. Jon Tester brought up the issue during a hearing with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, questioning whether if that tack at the CFAC site will ever allow for redevelopment.
He also questioned whether the EPA would have robust testing in place.
The site is contaminated with cyanide and fluoride in its groundwater near leaking dumps. The problem of cyanide in the water dates back 1990s, but little has been done about it to date.
Tester noted that the site drains directly into the Flathead River.
Regan said he’d have to “circle back” on whether it could be cleaned up to redevelopment standards.
But he did claim it would be cleaned up to standard to protect public health.
But city officials remain skeptical. They note a slurry wall could fail over time and Montana is prone to earthquakes.
The EPA has previously said it would assure the city has clean drinking water. That’s seems, however, a bit immaterial, since the city’s drinking water wells are several miles from the site.