Construction to Begin at Montana Pole & Treating Plant Superfund Site in Silver Bow County

• Moira Davin
• October 01 2021

HELENA—Local residents will see construction equipment at the Montana Pole & Treating Plant Superfund site located in Butte in Silver Bow County starting next week. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have selected Envirocon as the contractor to complete required construction on the south side of the site. The construction is needed to move treated soils into a 9-acre, onsite engineered repository area called a Corrective Action Management Unit (CAMU). Once construction is complete, the CAMU will remain on the site and be overseen by the state to ensure public health and the environment are protected while the remainder of the south side will be safe for redevelopment.

Envirocon will be onsite preparing for construction the week of Oct. 4-9, 2021, with work kicking off Oct. 11. Initial construction activities include screening of soil stockpiles to separate rocks from the dirt that will later be used as fill material and removing concrete from the site. The concrete will need to be broken up prior to removal and there may be some noise associated with that activity.

Construction of the removal of treated soils from the land treatment unit to the CAMU will occur next year in the spring or summer. DEQ and the EPA will update the community prior to the start of the 2022 construction and will be onsite daily during the movement of the treated soils to monitor for dust, vapors and odors. Construction is scheduled to be complete in the summer of 2022.

DEQ and the EPA are hosting a meeting for the Williamsburg and Boulevard neighborhoods​ to learn more about upcoming construction activities.

What: A hybrid meeting to provide updates on the construction season and answer questions

When: Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

Where: The in-person portion will be held at the Silverbow Fire Training Center (350 Josette Ave, Butte).The hybrid meeting can be accessed both online and in person. For information on accessing this meeting online, please follow this link: deq.mt.gov/news/publicmeetings-folder/news-article2

Updates about activity at the site will also be provided at the regular monthly EPA Butte Superfund Community Discussion Meetings held the last Monday of the month at 6 p.m. These meeting are held online. Information on these meetings can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/butte-superfund-community-meeting-tickets-160627584429

Envirocon is headquartered in Missoula, Mont., and has experience working on environmental sites, including remediating wood treating project sites. The former Montana Pole wood treating plant was listed as a Federal Superfund site after its closure and has already undergone cleanup of soil, groundwater and solid and hazardous waste. All contaminants are the result of the wood treating process that occurred onsite and are located in both soils and groundwater.