Arsenic, fluoride, cyanide to be capped at former aluminum smelter
The Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) will pay $57.6 million to clean up its shuttered smelter in northwestern Montana under an agreement announced Tuesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The site, which in its 1970s heyday was Flathead County’s largest employer, was added to the EPA’s Superfund National Priorities List nearly a decade ago. The new agreement outlines a plan to consolidate decades of toxic waste — including arsenic, fluoride and cyanide — on-site and cap it with material designed to prevent the pollutants from migrating into surrounding soil and groundwater.
“This is a significant milestone that will facilitate site redevelopment,” said Cyrus Western, the former Wyoming state legislator who now oversees EPA’s Region 8 office headquartered in Denver.
The cleanup addresses contamination from decades of aluminum smelting at the sprawling facility, which shut down long ago. The EPA statement said the agreement will also support future redevelopment of the property, which is one of northwestern Montana’s largest industrial sites.
The $57.6 million commitment by CFAC covers the cost of implementing the cleanup plan. The EPA said it will oversee the work to ensure it meets Superfund requirements.