Sites in Reuse in Montana
Anaconda Smelter
The Anaconda Co. Smelter Superfund site is a former copper smelter located in Anaconda, Montana. From 1884 to 1980, the smelter provided a reliable source of local jobs and revenue, serving as the cornerstone of the town and its economy. The smelter had a national reputation as one of the leading producers of copper. However, in 1980 the smelter closed and left more than 300 square miles of soil and water contaminated with heavy metals from almost a century of copper mining. The contamination devastated the community and its aquatic systems, threatening the nearby blue ribbon trout population. In 1983, EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List. EPA also formed a strong partnership with the community, ARCO (property owners), the state, and Deer Lodge County to design and implement a cleanup and redevelopment plan for the area. Since cleanup began, 250 acres have been re-vegetated and redeveloped into a 21-hole golf course that combines beautiful landscaping with historic mining artifacts. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus designed the golf course purposefully incorporating the smelter artifacts; bunkers are made of slag and golfers play beside old smelting ladles and chip in sight of flues and smelting ovens. The design also includes an interpretive trail that winds around the golf course, and a state-of-the-art water drainage system that recycles water and traps rain water for irrigation of the golf course and surrounding property. For years, Anaconda relied on the golf course, Superfund jobs and state facilities to stay afloat but recently new development has begun on the site. The Butte-based Community, Counseling, and Correctional Services Inc. recently completed a $12.3 million facility on the Site and will employ 51 personnel. Additionally, NorthWestern Energy is completing a Mill Creek substation on the site. This $200 million project alone is expected to double the county's tax base and provide approximately $8 million annually in property taxes upon completion in 2010 for the next 30 to 40 years.
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East Helena Site
From the late 1800’s until 2001, Asarco operated a copper, lead and zinc smelter in East Helena, Montana. The smelter functioned as the engine of the local economy and helped to define the community’s heritage. However, smelter operations also led to the contamination of significant portions of the former smelter facility, the City of East Helena and surrounding Lewis & Clark County. Cleanup efforts are underway by EPA Region 8, Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Montana Environmental Custodial Trust (Trust).
In 2009, the City of East Helena sought to position itself for future growth and development by annexing formerly Asarco-owned lands outside its city boundary. The community is now evaluating future land use, growth and development options. To support the community, EPA and the Trust in coordinating remediation, local planning and development, the EPA Superfund Redevelopment Initiative funded a community planning charrette and reuse planning process. The reuse planning process included a day-long workshop, held in May 2011, that engaged 45 representatives from the local community in developing a vision and set of revitalization strategies for East Helena. As a result, local government stakeholders, property owners, the Trust, EPA and its partner agencies now have a set of future land use concepts and priorities that can help shape and coordinate cleanup, planning and development across three specific focus areas: Land Use and Development; Cultural Heritage; and Habitat and Recreation.
Updated 11/2011
For more information:
- Future Redevelopment at the East Helena Superfund Site (PDF) (12 pp, 6.6MB, About PDF)
- CERCLIS Superfund Site Profile
Milltown Reservoir Sediments
A new chapter is beginning in the storied history of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers in western Montana. Home to the ancestors of the Bitterroot Salish, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai tribes, the region’s remarkable fishery and other natural resources have sustained communities for generations. From the 1860s until the late twentieth century, the area was also part of one of the richest mining regions in the world. These operations generated mining and milling wastes that have led to one of the largest hazardous waste cleanups in the country. EPA worked with local communities and federal, state and tribal partners on a coordinated approach that linked remediation, restoration and redevelopment at the Milltown Reservoir Sediments Superfund site. Assisted by an EPA Superfund Redevelopment pilot grant and EPA funding, the communities developed a reuse plan that called for the creation of a state park with trails, river access, wildlife habitat and interpretive areas celebrating the region’s history and heritage. All parties recognized that redevelopment planning could be integrated with environmental remediation and the ecological restoration of the Clark Fork River, which included the removal of the historic, century-old Milltown Dam. Today, the confluence of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers flows freely for the first time in a century. More than three million tons of contaminated sediments have been removed and the restoration of the Clark Fork River’s channel and floodplain will be completed by 2012. In 2010, portions of the site were transferred to the State of Montana for a new state park. Interim redevelopment activities, including several trails and a new pedestrian bridge, have been completed. More than $3 million in grant funding has been allocated for the park’s development, on top of about $5 million already allocated for land acquisitions and adjoining trails and a pedestrian bridge. In 2005, the Clark Fork Coalition also began managing a cattle ranch on the Clark Fork River portion of the site as a showcase for sustainable ranching techniques.
Updated 5/2011
For more information:
- Integrating the "3Rs": Remediation, Restoration and Redevelopment: The Milltown Reservoir Sediments Site and Missoula County, Montana (PDF) (14 pp, 2.3MB, About PDF)
- 2010 Return to Use Demonstration Project (PDF) (2 pp, 638K, About PDF)
- CERCLIS Superfund Site Profile
Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area
Thanks to EPA's Superfund program and a partnership between EPA and responsible party ARCO, portions of the Silver Bow Creek Superfund site in Butte, Montana, are no longer barren wastelands. The history of the site dates to the late 1800s, when mining wastes were deposited from the copper smelters that dotted the Butte area. For 60 years, miners dumped their wastes into streams and wetlands near mining operations, severely polluting ponds and soil. As a result, EPA placed the site on its list of priority hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1983. ARCO removed the tailings and contaminated sediment from the ponds and capped and revegetated the area in preparation for the new recreational fields. Working together, EPA, ARCO and the community have returned the site property to productive use, improving local quality of life and restoring the environment. Wetlands were restored and now serve as a key habitat for osprey and migrating Canadian geese. A system of historic preservation sites in Butte and Walkerville are linked by recreational trails through the site. Amenities include interpretive signs and stations. Another walking trail (Butte Hill Trail) was developed from an abandoned railroad bed. Other areas of the site have been transformed into a sports complex that includes youth baseball fields, a driving range and volleyball courts. In March 2011, Butte commissioners agreed to lease the Bell Diamond mine yard to Dennis Lester to pursue geothermal energy development. The project is estimated to cost approximately $140-million and could ultimately produce between 5 and 20 megawatts, enough to power approximately 5,000 to 10,000 homes.
Updated 8/2011
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