Letter to Constituents, January, 2026:

It has been nearly two years since the Coalition for a Clean CFAC mounted a petition drive to impact the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) cleanup plan for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) Superfund site.  You were among the 2,000 individuals signing the petition, along with 13 conservation-focused organizations representing 20,000 constituents.  While we were not able to influence the outcome of the cleanup plan as we preferred, we believe our combined efforts gave a clear message to EPA and Glencore/CFAC officials, as well as the MT Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and local and state leaders that we are here, we are watching, and we are not going away.

As the situation and plan has now become clearer, this is a good opportunity to bring you up to date on what we know about the cleanup at the CFAC Superfund site.  As you likely know, the EPA issued their Record of Decision in January 2025.  You can read it at the EPA link below. In short, their decision was to leave all the toxic waste on-site and 1) enclose it with a slurry wall to hold back the toxin-laden ground water from flowing to the Flathead River, and 2) excavate the surface soils that are contaminated with toxins but not deemed a threat to ground water, and consolidate on-site in the landfills. Over the years they will perform regular tests to determine the continuing effectiveness.

In the summer of 2025, the EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) allowing Glencore/CFAC contractors to begin performing follow up testing of ground water, soils, etc. to determine if there has been any change since the last tests were completed in 2018.  The data collected will be analyzed during the winter months, and spring 2026 will bring contractors on site to begin final design of the work plan, including ongoing monitoring and possibly more sampling.  EPA estimates construction will begin in 2027. Meanwhile, we await the issuing of the Consent Decree (CD) with an opportunity for public comment. The CD will be approved in Federal District Court and primarily deals with legal and financial aspects of the agreement between Glencore/CFAC, ARCO and EPA.

The EPA has awarded the Coalition for a Clean CFAC a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) to hire a technical advisor (TA) who will participate in regular meetings with EPA, DEQ, and Glencore/CFAC, asking questions, making suggestions, and then interpret and explain technical information to the Coalition Board and to the public in community meetings.  We anticipate the TA coming on board in early 2026.

Finally, a related program, the Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP), is working to determine the natural resource damage to public lands and “to recover damages for natural resources injured by the release of hazardous substances and to Restore, Rehabilitate, Replace or acquire the equivalent of the injured natural resources.”  NRDP is funded through the State of MT, working on behalf of the Governor who is the trustee for natural resources in MT.  The Department of the Interior (acting through US Fish and Wildlife Service and potentially the National Park Service), the US Department of Agriculture (acting through the US Forest Service), and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe (CSKT) are all trustees that are able to recover damages for injuries to the resources under their trusteeship. NRDP is taking the lead in this endeavor, but each trustee is responsible for assessing their own damages, using their own funds.

NRDP is seeking both research-based data as well as public comments and stories of observations of perceived damage.  Email any information to:  nrdp@mt.gov 

 The Coalition for a Clean CFAC was established as a Montana nonprofit in February 2024 by a small group of concerned citizens who were dissatisfied with the cleanup plan for the CFAC Superfund site presented by the EPA and Glencore/CFAC.  Major accomplishments of the Coalition have included the petition drive, and extensive research of the EPA Superfund documents leading to three public meetings to present information and gather input from citizens.  The meetings were funded, in part, by a Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) grant from the EPA.   

Coalition Board members and community members have made financial donations to support miscellaneous administrative needs required to do this extensive work.  At this time, as we move forward with the TAG grant, we are accepting donations to help cover expenses not included in the grant. Please continue to be involved as we bring the TA on board, hold public meetings, and continue efforts to monitor and influence the design, construction, ongoing monitoring, and long-term effectiveness of the CFAC cleanup. We look forward to your input.

To make a donation, please send your check to:

Coalition for a Clean CFAC
1037 Raven Lane
Columbia Falls, MT 59912

With Gratitude,

Coalition for a Clean CFAC Board — Shirley Folkwein, Phil Matson, Laura Damon, Tony Haag