EPA inks clean-up agreement with Montana aluminum plant
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached an agreement with Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) to spend $57.6 million cleaning up pollution from a long-closed aluminum plant in Montana. This site has been on the EPA’s Superfund list for nearly ten years due to toxic waste from past aluminum smelting operations.Key Facts
- CFAC will pay $57.6 million to address pollution caused by decades of aluminum smelting at the Columbia Falls site.
- The EPA added the site to the Superfund list about ten years ago because of hazardous materials like arsenic, fluoride, and cyanide.
- Cleanup will include consolidating waste on site and covering it with materials to stop contaminants from spreading.
- The site used to be Flathead County’s biggest employer during its peak in the 1970s.
- Part of the site will be redeveloped, with plans for new homes on nearby land not covered by the Superfund boundary.
- Due to pollution concerns, new housing developments will use city water instead of local groundwater.
- The cleanup agreement still needs public comments and court approval before it is finalized.
- The cleanup process is expected to take many years, as is common with Superfund sites.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
