CFAC presents its case against Superfund listing

The city of Columbia Falls, Gov. Steve Bullock, Sen. Jon Tester and numerous local community organizations supported putting the site on the Superfund list, but CFAC, the company’s owner, Glencore, and Rep. Ryan Zinke opposed the listing.

CFAC spokesman Haley Beaudry and CFAC environmental manager Steve Wright presented the company’s case for not listing at two meetings of the Montana West Economic Development Corporation’s board of directors. MWED is a quasi-governmental organization that uses local government money to promote economic development in the Flathead, including a revolving loan program from Columbia Falls that has accumulated $2.1 million.

Beaudry and Wright presented a four-page “Fact sheet” to the MWED board on May 27. They noted that the EPA had not found cyanide and fluoride in the Flathead River at levels “sufficient to justify listing the site on the NPL,” and that discharges from the smelter site have been approved and regulated under a Clean Water Act permit issued by the state of Montana and approved by the EPA for 30 years.

They also noted that CFAC had hired Roux Associates, a “nationally recognized consulting firm,” to develop a remedial investigation and feasibility work plan for cleaning up the site, and that “Glencore has made certain that CFAC can pay for Roux’s work,” as well for other cleanup work and water quality sampling for nearby residential wells.

Beaudry and Wright said CFAC “tried but couldn’t reach agreement with the state of Montana” about how to move ahead with cleaning up the smelter site. They said the Montana Department of Environmental Quality told CFAC it would write a “whitepaper” describing different approaches for CFAC to use to assess the site but instead “presented an unreasonable draft administrative order on consent” under the state’s Superfund law “and said it was ‘take it or leave it.’”

Beaudry and Wright also said CFAC tried to communicate directly with DEQ but the agency “communicated with CFAC through the press,” which “delayed and complicated the process.” They also said CFAC asked for a meeting with Gov. Steve Bullock in December 2014 “and still hasn’t received a response.”

“With the DEQ’s position and the stance that the governor appears to have taken, CFAC had no choice but to approach the EPA to discuss entering into an agreement to assess the site,” they said.

But CFAC is now encountering difficulties negotiating with the EPA, Beaudry and Wright said. Despite repeated requests, the EPA won’t provide CFAC with a draft administrative order on consent or tell CFAC when one will be available, they said.

Beaudry and Wright also noted that a Superfund designation will “slow assessment, waste money and stigmatize the Gateway to Glacier National Park.”

At their April 22 meeting, MWED board members asked Beaudry and Wright “what guarantees” CFAC could make to ensure that the cleanup work would be completed. They said the cleanup requirements would be the same whether or not the site was put on the Superfund list.

Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia, a board member, told the board that the Columbia Falls City Council had unanimously approved putting CFAC on the Superfund list. Flathead County commissioner Pam Holmquist, also a board member, said the county supported remediation and wanted it done as quickly as possible, but that she didn’t know which approach would be most effective.

Following Beaudry and Wright’s presentation, the MWED board discussed CFAC’s request for MWED to send a letter to the EPA opposed to the listing, MWED president and CEO Kellie Danielson said.

“The city of Columbia Falls and the Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce have determined what they believe is in the best interests for their community on the listing,” she said. “Therefore, the consensus of the board members was not to provide a letter to EPA asking for non-listing of the CFAC site on the National Priorities List.”

The 60-day public comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to put the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. site on the federal Superfund’s National Priorities List ended May 25.

The city of Columbia Falls, Gov. Steve Bullock, Sen. Jon Tester and numerous local community organizations supported putting the site on the Superfund list, but CFAC, the company’s owner, Glencore, and Rep. Ryan Zinke opposed the listing.

CFAC spokesman Haley Beaudry and CFAC environmental manager Steve Wright presented the company’s case for not listing at two meetings of the Montana West Economic Development Corporation’s board of directors. MWED is a quasi-governmental organization that uses local government money to promote economic development in the Flathead, including a revolving loan program from Columbia Falls that has accumulated $2.1 million.

Beaudry and Wright presented a four-page “Fact sheet” to the MWED board on May 27. They noted that the EPA had not found cyanide and fluoride in the Flathead River at levels “sufficient to justify listing the site on the NPL,” and that discharges from the smelter site have been approved and regulated under a Clean Water Act permit issued by the state of Montana and approved by the EPA for 30 years.

They also noted that CFAC had hired Roux Associates, a “nationally recognized consulting firm,” to develop a remedial investigation and feasibility work plan for cleaning up the site, and that “Glencore has made certain that CFAC can pay for Roux’s work,” as well for other cleanup work and water quality sampling for nearby residential wells.

Beaudry and Wright said CFAC “tried but couldn’t reach agreement with the state of Montana” about how to move ahead with cleaning up the smelter site. They said the Montana Department of Environmental Quality told CFAC it would write a “whitepaper” describing different approaches for CFAC to use to assess the site but instead “presented an unreasonable draft administrative order on consent” under the state’s Superfund law “and said it was ‘take it or leave it.’”

Beaudry and Wright also said CFAC tried to communicate directly with DEQ but the agency “communicated with CFAC through the press,” which “delayed and complicated the process.” They also said CFAC asked for a meeting with Gov. Steve Bullock in December 2014 “and still hasn’t received a response.”

“With the DEQ’s position and the stance that the governor appears to have taken, CFAC had no choice but to approach the EPA to discuss entering into an agreement to assess the site,” they said.

But CFAC is now encountering difficulties negotiating with the EPA, Beaudry and Wright said. Despite repeated requests, the EPA won’t provide CFAC with a draft administrative order on consent or tell CFAC when one will be available, they said.

Beaudry and Wright also noted that a Superfund designation will “slow assessment, waste money and stigmatize the Gateway to Glacier National Park.”

At their April 22 meeting, MWED board members asked Beaudry and Wright “what guarantees” CFAC could make to ensure that the cleanup work would be completed. They said the cleanup requirements would be the same whether or not the site was put on the Superfund list.

Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia, a board member, told the board that the Columbia Falls City Council had unanimously approved putting CFAC on the Superfund list. Flathead County commissioner Pam Holmquist, also a board member, said the county supported remediation and wanted it done as quickly as possible, but that she didn’t know which approach would be most effective.

Following Beaudry and Wright’s presentation, the MWED board discussed CFAC’s request for MWED to send a letter to the EPA opposed to the listing, MWED president and CEO Kellie Danielson said.

“The city of Columbia Falls and the Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce have determined what they believe is in the best interests for their community on the listing,” she said. “Therefore, the consensus of the board members was not to provide a letter to EPA asking for non-listing of the CFAC site on the National Priorities List.”