BUTTE — The removal and transport of waste material from the center of Butte, including portions of a slag wall along Silver Bow Creek, is about to begin and the haul route for that material will run through a busy west-end neighborhood.
“Our goal is to impact the community the least we possibly can with trucks on the roads, but we are going to have to have some trucks on the roads to get the clean up down that needs to be done,” said Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher.
The Atlantic Richfield Company is demolishing portions of the slag wall and some foundations at the former Butte Reduction Works site off South Montana Street and then trucking the debris to the Butte Mine Waste Repository site.
Part of the haul route runs the length of Excelsior Street which is a large residential area — and some residents are voicing concerns.
“Down at the bottom of the street here we have West Elementary. My granddaughter goes there, I take her there almost every morning and those kids cross the street here, and you got up north the Kennedy, they cross the street by the Kennedy,” said Silver Street resident Evan Barrett.
Officials note this route has been used to haul debris for decades and shouldn’t have a big impact during this project. They don’t expect the project to have any risk to public safety.
“They also have to have water suppression on site to control dust and all loads need to be covered during transport,” said Butte Reclamation Director Eric Hassler.
Still, some residents wish they would transport waste to sites outside the city limits.
“By the way, it’s good to remember that British Petroleum made $28 billion last year, and if all we’re trying to do is save some gas money for them, well, tough noogies,” said Barrett.
The city noted that this haul route is not going to be used in the upcoming Superfund reclamation project.
Project leaders are looking for other routes that will have less impact on the city.
