Lawsuit History and Settlements

In 1983, the State of Montana filed a lawsuit against the Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) for injuries to the natural resources in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin. The lawsuit, brought under federal and state Superfund laws, sought damages from ARCO, contending that decades of mining and smelting in the Butte and Anaconda areas had greatly harmed natural resources in the basin and deprived Montanans of their use.

In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed another lawsuit to establish ARCO's liability for remedial clean up of the basin. The state has settled its lawsuit through a series of settlement agreements completed in 1999, 2005 and 2008.

1999 Settlement

The first phase of the lawsuit went to trial in March 1997. The state and ARCO reached a settlement agreement on a large portion of the lawsuit in June 1998. In November 1998, the state, ARCO, federal government and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes reached a second agreement that incorporated the NRD settlement and also a settlement of ARCO's remedial liability to EPA and the state for cleanup of Silver Bow Creek. The Court approved both settlement agreements in April 1999.

The 1999 settlement called for ARCO to pay the state $230 million ($215 plus $15 million in interest). The payment included:

• $129 million (including $9 million in interest) for the restoration of natural resources in the Clark Fork Basin. This money was deposited in a special revenue fund known as the Upper Clark Fork River Basin Restoration Fund.
• $86 million (including $6 million in interest) for the state's cleanup of the Silver Bow Creek area west and north of Butte in accordance with EPA's Record of Decision.
• $15 million to reimburse the state for all of its costs in bringing the lawsuit through December 31, 1997.

2005 Settlement – Milltown Dam

A consent decree involving the state, EPA, ARCO and NorthWestern Corporation was filed in August 2005. The decree addressed the terms and costs of cleaning up the Milltown Dam Reservoir area east of Missoula and restoring the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers at the site. Further information on the progress of the cleanup, led by EPA, is available on the Milltown Dam page.

2008 Settlement

In February 2008, the state, EPA and ARCO reached a final settlement totaling $168 million. Of that, $72.5 million goes to the state to restore the three remaining sites:

• Butte Area One – $28.1 million
• Smelter Hill Uplands – $13.2 million
• Upper Clark Fork River – $26.7 million

Public comment on the 2008 Consent Decree and the restoration plans for each of these three sites will be accepted until April 12, 2008.

Butte Area One Claim and Restoration Plan

Butte Area One

Butte Area One extends from the upper end of the Metro Storm Drain downstream to the former location of the Colorado Tailings along Silver Bow Creek in Butte. The wastes in this area from mining-related operations have injured the area's surface and groundwater resources.

Butte Area One is a portion of the larger Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (BPSOU), an area of approximately 3,200 acres designated as a Superfund site by the EPA.

The extent of alluvial groundwater injury in Butte Area One is about 560 acres. The EPA Record of Decision, issued in 2006, is being implemented. Without effective remediation or removal of the sources of contamination, this area will continue to be contaminated for thousands of years. In addition:

• contaminated groundwater enters Silver Bow Creek from the alluvial aquifer and
• contaminated surface water enters Silver Bow Creek from storm water runoff flowing across mine dumps and soils within the BPSOU.

This contaminated water adversely affects water quality and aquatic life in Silver Bow Creek. The $28 million allocated to this site under the 2008 settlement is expected, along with the EPA remedy, to address this contamination.

Smelter Hill Uplands Claim and Restoration Plan

Anaconda Uplands

From the 1880s to 1980, large volumes of hazardous substances were released into the air by the Anaconda Smelter. These emissions were deposited onto the land, resulting in severe loss of vegetation and injuring nearly 17.8 square miles of land in the mountains surrounding the city of Anaconda. The loss of vegetation resulted in widespread erosion, topsoil loss, degraded wildlife habitat and significantly reduced wildlife in the area. This claim area includes portions of:

• Smelter Hill (4,653 acres)
• Stucky Ridge (2,409 acres)
• Mount Haggin Game Management Area (4,304 acres)

The $13.2 million designated for this site under the 2008 settlement will address the most severely injured portions of these areas, including areas subject to the Anaconda Record of Decision.

Upper Clark Fork River Claim and Restoration Plan

Upper Clark Fork River

The aquatic and riparian resources of the Upper Clark Fork River from Warm Springs Ponds to the Milltown Reservoir have been degraded by a variety of hazardous substances that were released over the last 125 years from mining-related operations in the Butte and Anaconda areas.

The state determined that this contamination has caused drastically reduced trout populations in the Upper Clark Fork River as well as the loss of plants, wildlife and wildlife habitat along the river's floodplain. The principal sources of contamination are:

• tailings and contaminated soils in the Upper Clark Fork River floodplain, which affect thousands of acres, and
• contaminated sediments in the river's bed and banks.

The Natural Resource Damage Program will use the $26.7 million allocated to this site for restoration, which will be integrated into the remedial cleanup of the Clark Fork River.

Upper Clark Fork River Remediation Claim

In 2004, the EPA, with the state's agreement, selected a final remedy for the environmental cleanup of the Upper Clark Fork River site. This cleanup plan calls for careful removal of contaminated tailings from areas devoid of vegetation because of contaminants, treatment of other affected soils and stream bank reconstruction.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, with EPA oversight and input, will use the $95 million for remediation of this site.

Grant-Kohrs Ranch and Remediation Claims

Grant-Kohrs Ranch, an historic unit of the National Parks System, lies along the Clark Fork River in Deer Lodge. As a result of contamination on the ranch, the National Parks Service asserted claims against ARCO for natural resource damage and remediation. The 2008 settlement provides funding from ARCO for cleanup of the contamination and restoration at the ranch. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), with National Park Service oversight, is responsible for the cleanup and restoration.