Much to do about a Brownfield—Missoula White Pine Sash Superfund Site

Since the development of the Hellgate Trading post, a flour mill and sawmill on the Clark Fork River in the 1800s, area industries have helped support Missoula. But such industries can leave a legacy of contamination. The Missoula White Pine and Sash (MWPS) mill on Missoula’s north side used wood preservatives (pentachlorophenol and diesel mixtures) that leaked, over decades, into the soil and water. These chemicals could contaminate Missoula’s sole-source aquifer, and ultimately affect public health. At MWPS, investigations and some mitigation and clean-up have been done over the two decades since the site was placed on the Montana Superfund National Priorities list. However, no final Record of Decision (ROD), stating the level of clean up required, was released until February 2015. Cleanup of hundreds of Montana ‘brownfields’, like MWPS, has been slowed by the amending of legislation and regulations over time. Many stakeholders will be affected by this long-awaited cleanup decision. However, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the agency in charge of the Superfund site, only recognizes as stakeholders: Huttig Sash and Door (owners of White Pine Sash and Pole) and three current site property owners (the city of Missoula, Zip Beverage, and Scott Street Partners (SSLLP)). The residents that live next to the site are not considered stakeholders by the DEQ. To effectively remediate the MWPS site, changes are needed in the nature of community involvement, the options for methods to clean the site, and the laws that currently govern the actions of the DEQ. Additional excavation is needed in key parts of the site, and In-situ and Ex-situ bioremediation of the surface and subsurface soil and the groundwater need to be explored