Helena, Montana — Gov. Steve Bullock has joined the call to have the shuttered Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. plant placed on the federal Superfund National Priorities List, a step toward gaining federal funding to clean up the 120-acre site.
Last fall, the Environmental Protection Agency said that pollution at the plant qualifies it as a Superfund site, but it wanted the public's support before moving forward.
An EPA study found cyanide, arsenic, lead and fluoride in the groundwater in and around the plant. Low levels of arsenic were found in two of five residential wells tested in a nearby neighborhood.
Bullock's letter, dated Tuesday, said there is widespread local support for the listing and eventual cleanup. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester urged the listing in early January.
The plant closed in 2009.
