Still time to address CFAC concerns

I am writing about the recent HH News article published Dec. 27, 2023 entitled “Plenty of Concerns About CFAC Cleanup Plan From Public, ARCO.”  While the public comment period may be over, it is time for our elected officials to speak up for their constituents, many of whom have strong opposition to the current cleanup plan.  The community of Columbia Falls does not want the contamination to remain in place as an underlying health threat and economic liability for perpetuity.  

Apparently, the city agrees.  On March 25, 2021 Columbia Falls City Council expressed to the EPA “their desire to see the site cleaned up with the contaminants removed from the site and not covered up or left in place to prevent the spread of groundwater contaminants.”  

In a more recent letter (Aug. 29, 2023) to the EPA, former plant operators ARCO called out CFAC’s 2020 Remediation Investigation as “insufficient for the purpose of supporting the development and evaluation” of EPA’s preferred plan, citing MTDEQ and EPA repeatedly requesting additional site information for which significant data gaps persist, concern over the containment wall’s effectiveness due to depth and unstable hydrogeologic conditions, reliance on simplistic modeling, and incomplete cost-benefit evaluation. 

Furthermore, according to an Aug. 31, 2023 letter from CFAC Project Manager John Stroiazzi, the EPA contractor Skeo’s Report entitled, “Proposed Plan for Cleanup Columbia Falls Aluminum Company,” “was inaccurate, misleading, and inconsistent with the EPA’s obligation to effectively inform the public.”  If our public comments were indeed based on false information, we deserve the right to have another comprehensive and transparent investigation with an additional public comment period to review all the facts. 

The EPAs plan is riddled with inconsistencies, hypocrisy, and cost-cutting deception.  It is time our County Commissioners and Governor Gianforte take a closer look at this plan and hear the voices of this community. 

Phillip L. Matson 

Columbia Falls