Superfund designation requested

HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate the Anaconda Mineral Co. smelter and refinery site in Black Eagle as a federal Superfund cleanup site.

The site near Great Falls is contaminated with heavy metals from decades of copper smelting between 1893 and 1980. Elevated levels of lead and arsenic have since been found in the soil at 375 nearby homes.

If the EPA accepts Schweitzer’s request, the site could become the 16th Superfund site designated in Montana.