Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes demand input on Columbia Falls Superfund cleanup

MISSOULA — One of Montana’s tribal groups opposes a federal proposal to cap and contain industrial pollution at a Columbia Falls plant, saying it could continue to affect their fishing treaty rights on the Flathead River.

On Tuesday, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes sent a letter to KC Becker, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 administrator, asking her to hold off on finalizing her decision on the cleanup process for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Superfund site until the tribes were properly consulted.

In June 2023, the EPA released a draft assessment with its preferred alternative, which would keep contaminants onsite by building a “slurry wall” that extends vertically underground around the contaminated areas, capping the areas and then using a treatment facility to filter any contaminated groundwater. After more than a year, Becker is likely close to making her final decision.

Because the bottom of the containment structure would be unsealed and slurry walls can fail, although it’s rare, the CSKT are concerned that option could continue to allow cyanide, fluoride, arsenic and other pollutants to leach into the groundwater and ultimately the Flathead River. The Superfund site sits on the north bank of the Flathead River upstream from where it flows through Columbia Falls.

The CSKT asked Becker to consult with them on choosing an option that would meet Montana’s water quality standards for fish and aquatic life and protect the Tribes’ fishing and fish consumption rights in the Flathead River.

“We are concerned about the toxic contaminants that Glencore left in the ground at the site, and how the cyanide, fluoride, and heavy metals impact the Flathead River and native trout,” said Rich Janssen Jr., CSKT Natural Resources Department director, in a release. “If there are not enough fish to harvest, or if the fish have bio-accumulated too many toxins to be safe for human consumption, our treaty-reserved rights are meaningless. EPA must select a cleanup plan for CFAC that will permanently protect the Flathead River and the fish that live there, and ensure the river and fish survive and thrive for future generations.”

On Thursday, EPA Congressional liaison David Piantanida told the Missoula Current in an email that the EPA was reviewing the CSKT letter and the agency "will continue to communicate with all interested parties and the community as we work towards a protective, effective cleanup at CFAC."

Between 1955 and 2001, the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company made aluminum using processes that created toxic waste containing arsenic, fluoride, sodium and cyanide in addition to heavy metals such as barium, cadmium and selenium. Glencore, which also owns five coal mines in Canada’s Elk River Valley north of Lake Koocanusa, bought the company in 1999, and the EPA designated the property as a Superfund site in 2016. Glencore, along with the previous owner, Atlantic Richfield Company, are the “potentially responsible parties” on the hook for paying for the cleanup.

That is a concern for the CSKT because they have little reason to trust Glencore. The tribes are one of the parties working to limit the selenium pollution in Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River, most of which emanates from the coal mines and the Elk River. Recently, Teck Resources, the former owner of the Elk River coal mines, tried to get the state of Montana to reduce its water quality standards for selenium in Lake Koocanusa to allow more pollution in. Glencore bought a majority share of Teck Resources' Elk River operation for almost $7 billion in cash in November 2023.

Above certain concentrations, selenium can be toxic to fish, primarily affecting the reproductive system. Through a process called bioaccumulation, larger fish such as trout can end up with such high concentrations. So fish populations suffer and tribal members have fewer fish to catch.

“Glencore is now the single biggest threat to our treaty-reserved fishing rights,” said Tom McDonald, CSKT vice chairman, in a release. “The EPA has been a great partner working to get Canada to address the pollution from Glencore’s mines in the Elk Valley. We expect EPA to do the same here to address pollution from Glencore’s Superfund site in the Flathead Basin, particularly since EPA actually has the authority here to protect our treaty-reserved rights.”

Concerned about the compounded effect of multiple pollution sources affecting western Montana rivers, the tribes and others would prefer an option where the EPA removes the contaminants from the site. But the EPA’s evaluation of the alternatives looked partially at cost.

The EPA has estimated that excavation of 1.2 million cubic yards of waste and disposal of the contamination in an Arlington, Ore., landfill would cost between $625 million and $1.4 billion. Building the slurry wall, cap and treatment plant would cost around $57.5 million.

The EPA eliminated the option of removing contamination, saying “on‐site disposal options can achieve similar effectiveness with lower levels of risk, disruption, and cost.” In their letter, the CSKT said the cost savings would come at “the cost of the environment continuing to receive pollution for at least 35-60 more years.”

“We also note that Preferred Alternative 4 does not reflect the EPA’s own scientists' conclusions regarding the most effective remedy in terms of likelihood of stopping harmful pollution or in terms of timeliness,” the letter said.

As members of the Frenchtown Smurfit Stone Citizen Advisory Group know, the EPA also bases its Superfund evaluations primarily on the risks to human health, while risks to the environment take a bit of a backseat. The Smurfit Stone group had to lobby for months to get the EPA to include fish-tissue samples from the Clark Fork River, and the agency has refused to pay for more investigations of fish concerns downstream. Similarly, concerns about fish in the Flathead River rank lower in priority and human health risks from eating fish weren’t addressed in the Columbia Falls assessment.

Finally, the tribes worry that the EPA retains no responsibility once the cleanup is complete. So should the cap or slurry wall fail, Glencore would be liable for the cleanup.

As Missoula County found withthe Bonner mill site, cleanup after the fact is often more expensive than when it’s all part of the Superfund process. At the Bonner site, some contaminants were collected in a capped repository, but later, the new property owner, Bonner Property Development, wanted it removed, so the area could be developed. What would have cost around $800,000 during the cleanup ended up costing more than $3 million a decade later.

“The EPA has made many commitments to consult with Tribes and to honor Tribes’ treaty rights, including a specific commitment to engage in meaningful consultation with CSKT on the cleanup remedy for CFAC,” said CSKT Chairman Michael Dolson. “Now it’s time for the EPA to turn those words into action and to work with the Tribes to ensure that the toxic waste at the CFAC site will not continue to harm the river, fish, and our treaty rights into the future.”

Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.