This is one of several books and reports which have been written on various Superfund Sites in the state of Montana. This book, "
Restoring the Shining Waters: Superfund Success at Milltown, Montana", was written by David Brooks Ph.D and published in September 2015 by University of Oklahoma Press.
Northwest and South Central Montana could be considered one large Superfund Site; encompassing 13 counties including Missoula County where Milltown is located.
The EPA discovered arsenic contamination in the Milltown drinking water well in 1981. An alternative water supply was developed in 1982 and Milltown Reservoir Sediments/Clark Fork River Super Fund project was placed on the National Priorities List for cleanup under Superfund and finalized in 1983. The Super Fund's involvement spanned over 30 years and monitoring and redevelopment still continues today.
The cleanup phase was completed in September 2012. The EPA and the State of Montana marked another project milestone ending the Remediation and Restoration phases.
The beginning of the Monitoring and Redevelopment phases:
The development of Milltown State Park began and was opened in May 2013. This is a must visit when in the Milltown area. At the lookout are several information signs explaining the Super Fund and about the Milltown Reservoir and its ultimate removal. Also included is information on habitat, especially about the Bull Trout which was close to extinction.
Some information transcribed from the signs:
WHAT IS SUPERFUND?
Administered by the EPA, the Superfund law seeks to cleanup and restore polluted industrial sites across the nation. The law, formally known as CERCLA, identifies the parties responsible for the contamination and requires them to pay for the cleanups and site restoration. At the Milltown Reservoir Superfund site, the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and NorthWestern Energy have paid for the cleanup and restoration, estimated at more than $100 million.
THE DAM MUST GO
After the ice jam, new concerns arose about the release of contaminated sediments from the Milltown Reservoir as arsenic posed a risk to public health and copper threatened aquatic life, like caddis flies and trout. The safety of the aging dam itself and the 1998 listing of bull trout as a federally threatened species led to a 2004 proposal to remove the dam and sediment as a viable and permanent solution to cleaning up the Milltown Superfund site.
THE DAM REMOVAL
In the late summer of 2006 construction work began on the cleanup and restoration of the Clark Fork River.
The first step was to draw down the reservoir in three stages over three years and remove the contaminated sediments that had accumulated behind the dam. Workers diverted the Clark Fork River into a bypass channel to make the excavation easier and minimize the release of arsenic, copper and other heavy metals downstream.
REMOVING THE DAM
The Milltown Dam was removed in two stages. First, the brick powerhouse was isolated by a temporary coffer dam and demolished. On March 28, 2008, the dam was breached and the Clark Fork River flowed freely through the confluence for the first time in a century.
A year later, workers completed the removal of the concrete and timber spillway. The project opened up thousands of square miles of habitat to native fish, among them bull trout, which once again can migrate up the Blackfoot River to spawn in its tributaries.
FROM SUPERFUND SITE TO STATE PARK
Building on the river restoration work is a redevelopment effort that brought together local residents and river stakeholders to plan for the future of the Milltown site. Years of collaborative work led to the creation of a community council, the construction of trails and a new Blackfoot River pedestrian bridge, numerous efforts to preserve local history, and the capstone achievement: the creation of Milltown State Park.
Scoop-by-scoop, excavators dug up three million tons of contaminated sediment over the next two years (2007-2009), shipping it by rail to a repository at the Anaconda Smelter Superfund site.
Annually, in April, there is a
Superfun(d) Run sponsored by the Milltown Superfund Redevelopment Working Group (Friends of 2 Rivers) and now assisted by Run Wild Missoula celebrating the successful Superfund cleanup.
Also there is the Milltown Super Fund Site Park located at these coordinates: N 46 52.023 W 113 52.396. This is also a part of the Milltown Reservoir Sediments / Clark Fork River Super Fund project.
It is our understanding that this park and the Milltown State Park will connect by a series of trails and the foot bridge. The park was closed at the time of our visit and is restricted for use due to concerns for protecting the native flora and fauna and biota in the area. When the walking trails will be reopened is still uncertain. This is a delicate balance between protecting and public usage.
The first photo below is looking more or less directly at the site of the old dam, the item which turned out to be the major culprit in this story.