Cleanup at superfund sites in Cascade County are continuing, slowly.

Sandy Johnson, the county’s superfund coordinator, updated the Board of Health during their Dec. 6 meeting.

In Black Eagle, the consent decree for cleanup of Operational Unit 1 of the former smelter site was signed by a federal judge earlier this year. That section is largely residential in Black Eagle.

Johnson said that means the process to start removing contaminated soils from about 175 residential years will begin in 2024.

She said it will likely take a few years and though most area residents are aware of the project, the former smelter owner, Atlantic Richfield Company, or ARCO, will sent letters to property owners and hold a public meeting in January.

Public comment sought on cleanup plan for portion of former smelter site

The Operational Unit 2, or OU2 area, includes the larger former smelter site and is still being investigated through soil sampling, monitoring wells and focusing on groundwater, Johnson said.

She said that the investigative work is underway but she doesn’t expect cleanup of that section to begin for several more years.

One of the parcels within OU2 is the Stray Moose property.

The county owns the property and has leased it to Stray Moose Productions since 1999 and Stray Moose owns the building.

Meeting planned on Neihart area Superfund site

In March 2023, County Commissioners met with museum staff and board members, as well as representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and ARCO about the potential use of the building in Black Eagle as the future home of the museum.

In late February 2023, commissioners approved rezoning the property to mixed use.

The Stray Moose site, “would offer the space we need and room to grow including outdoor space. It is a much better fit than any other property we have looked at. We have a buy-sell agreement with the owner of the building, we are actively raising funds to cover the local costs needed to obtain matching grant monies for the purchase, renovation, and move,” Sherrie Neff, museum director, said in an email to The Electric in early 2023.

Community meeting set on potential use of Black Eagle property for children’s museum

The property was originally zoned I-2 heavy industrial in 2005 as part of the county-wide zoning process.

By 2007, the property was zoned I-1 light industrial and by 2009 it was zoned open space, according to the county.

Because the smelter side will need different levels of cleanup depending on the planned use of the property and during the March 8, 2023 meeting, officials discussed what levels of cleanup and the timeline if the museum intended to use outdoor space for children’s activities.

The museum’s lease of a city-owned property behind the Civic Center expired in November.

County, agencies discussing details for potential use of Black Eagle site for Children’s Museum

Museum staff and board members have gone through several iterations of potential future sites over the last few years as city officials said they were not likely to renew the lease since the property is needed for city operations.

City Manager Greg Doyon told The Electric on Dec. 7 that he was drafting a new lease for the museum to use their existing city-owned space on a year to year basis as they figure out a new space.

In 2018, when the lease was extended for five years, City Manager Greg Doyon said it would be his recommendation to reclaim the space it already owns for city offices.

County approves rezone for Black Eagle site eyed for future Children’s Museum home

In a January 2022 email from Doyon to Sherrie Neff, museum director, he wrote that “at this point, there does not appear to be a majority of commissioners interested in terminating the lease agreement in November 2023. Unless something significant changes between now and then (that would change their mind), I’ll recommend to the commission that they consider renewing the lease annually after the current lease expires and potentially with some modifications.”

He wrote that he suggested the museum continue its effort to find a new space, “for the simple fact that the current/propose renovations in the Civic Center will simply hold operational needs for a limited time. I hope this gives you some breathing room for now and offers more time to consider options.”

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Neff wrote back that they are “determined to make this space available to you as soon as possible. We are working through the process for a stellar site, and I will keep you posted when an estimated date is available.”

The museum had a buy-sell with Pacific Steel for the location on 3rd Street Northwest but that was no longer in place in 2021. Neff said at the time that COVID-19 slowed their fundraising efforts.

Johnson told the county health board that they’re looking at options to move the Stray Moose property into OU1 to speed cleanup or other possibilities.

County selects prefered land use plan for former smelter site [2021]

ARCO did more sampling on the Stray Moose site over the summer because it could potentially be used for the museum and since children might be on the site, they wanted a better idea of the sampling and what cleanup levels would be needed, Johnson told the board.

Johnson said that cleanup depends on the land use type and that residential is the highest level of cleanup.

She said there had been conversations between the EPA and DEQ about wanting the Stray Moose property cleanup to residential standards if it would be used for a museum.

“These things do not move very quickly,” Johnson said. “We’re really trying to see, can we make it happen.”

Amphitheater, ski hill proposed for Black Eagle area [2021]

She told the board she was working to get answers for the museum since they know the property has to be cleaned up, but don’t know how that will be done or who will pay for it yet.

Johnson said she’s meeting with EPA, DEQ and ARCO on Dec. 14 to dial in on what needs to be done for the Stray Moose property to determine if the museum can move forward with their plan to relocated to that site.

Great Falls Public Schools Superintendent asked if work had been done on the city’s Anaconda Golf Course.

Johnson said it’s part of OU2 and some sampling had been done.

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The golf course is a recreational use so it has different cleanup standards.

Doyon told The Electric, “I’ve heard nothing about remediation plans or the need to do anything at the course, this doesn’t mean that it isn’t necessary – just that I have not been advised either way.”

In Neihart, there appears to be movement on the Carpenter-Snow Creek Superfund Site, Johnson told the health board.

She said the site had been planned on the national priority list in 2000 and a record of decision was filed in 2009, but it had been sitting since.

County approves $95,000 contract for continued planning work for former Black Eagle smelter site [2019]

Johnson said cleanup was likely to start in 2024-2025. She said next year will probably involve getting the haul road ready to handle the truck traffic to remove contaminated soils and bring in fresh dirt. She said the cleanup will likely start the following season.

She said there’s about 75 residential yards in Neihart that need cleanup.

She said the EPA is working with property owners to get access agreements as it’s voluntary to have their property cleaned up, but wise while the government is funding the cleanup work.

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The 9,000-acre Carpenter Snow Creek Mining District site is located in the Little Belt Mountains of southern Cascade County.

The site includes mine tailings, waste rock and mine-influenced waters due to many inactive and abandoned mines, according to the EPA, which has identified about 96 abandoned mines at the site; at least 21 of these are probable sources of contamination.

Historic mining operations contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water and sediment with metals and other hazardous chemicals. Investigation and cleanup activities are ongoing, according to the EPA.

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Mining began in the area in the 1880s when silver deposits were discovered near the future Neihart town site. Mines yielded primarily silver, lead and zinc ores. During the 1920s, lead and zinc were produced in large quantities. The mining district has been largely inactive since the 1940s, but there has been some work and production since, according to the EPA.