In case you missed it, download the Spring 2012 update on the restoration of Silver Bow Creek from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on the Silver Bow Creek page.

EPA offers the following definition of Operable Unit: During cleanup, a site can be divided into a number of distinct areas depending on the complexity of the problems associated with the site. These areas called operable units may address geographic…

EPA, working with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, selected the remedy for the Rocker Timber Framing and Treating Plant in late 1995. The remedy addresses human health risks from potential exposure to contaminated soils and ground water. You can…

The three Warm Springs Ponds cover 2,400 acres at the confluence of Silver Bow, Mill, Willow, and Warm Springs creeks. The ponds were constructed by the Anaconda Company between 1911 and 1959 in an attempt to trap tailings before they…

The boundary of the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area site begins above Butte, near the Continental Divide, and extends westward along Silver Bow Creek to and including the Warm Springs Ponds, treatment area and wildlife management area approximately 20 miles west…

The Montana Pole and Treating site is an abandoned 40-acre wood treatment facility in Butte, Montana. From 1946 to 1983, the facility preserved utility poles, posts and bridge timbers with pentachlorophenol (PCP). Hazardous substances from the pole-treating operations were discharged…

Water on the west side of the Butte hill drains distinctly from water on the east side, which flows to the Berkeley Pit. In 1989, under EPA supervision, the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) addressed rising mine waters in the West…

Butte Natural Resource Damage Restoration Council (BNRC) Lower Area One (LAO) is a very active segment of the broader Butte Area One Operable Unit, which has recently received attention after funds from the 2008 Consent Decree between the State of…

The simple answer is that the responsible party pays for the cleanup. If the responsible party no longer exists, cannot be determined, or is unable to fund the cleanup, Superfund Trust fund money is used to complete the cleanup. However,…

History From the discovery of gold on Silver Bow Creek west of Butte in the 1860s, the Clark Fork River and surrounding ecosystems of western Montana have been heavily impacted by mining and smelting. With the discovery of gold and…