Judge OKs settlement

By Justin Post - 08/27/2008

A judge has finalized a $168 million settlement between the state and Atlantic Richfield Co. for cleaning pollution in the Upper Clark Fork River area.

The settlement is for the final natural resource damage claims for sites in the Clark Fork River Basin and the environmental remediation claims for the Upper Clark Fork River.

Attorney General Mike McGrath says the settlement, first announced earlier this year, was finalized this week.

U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon signed the agreement Thursday and it was entered by the court Monday.

"We've waited for this day for a long, long time," McGrath said.

Jon Sesso, Butte-Silver Bow Superfund coordinator and planning director, agreed.

"It's a very significant milestone in the effort to move forward with Butte's agenda," he said. "We've been waiting a long time for the settlement to be formally completed." Sesso said the city-county's plans and ideas for the money have been on hold awaiting this final approval.

Judge Haddon's approval ends the waiting, he said.

"It sets the stage for an exciting two or three years of decision-making and a couple decades of implementation of some great projects for Butte and the Butte hill," Sesso said.

The state should start receiving payments from Arco within 90 days, and the cleanup and restoration projects in Butte and Anaconda and along the Clark Fork River can begin, McGrath said.

According to the settlement, payments are earmarked separately for restoration and remediation and will be made according to payment schedules.

The restoration portion includes an initial payment of $14.5 million after 90 days. Future payments are $14.5 million plus accrued interest over the next four years.

For the remedy portion, the state will receive $42.5 million plus about $12 million in accrued interest after 90 days, and another $42.5 million plus interest in a year.

The state first sued in 1983 over mining waste in an area that stretches from Anaconda to the site of the Milltown Dam, near Missoula. It also covers cleanup in the mountains around Anaconda, Butte area groundwater and Silver Bow Creek.

As part of the $168 million settlement, the state will receive $95.5 million to clean the Clark Fork River site with Environmental Protection Agency oversight, and $72.5 to restore the three sites including $28.1 million for Butte Area One, $13.2 million for the Smelter Hill Uplands, and $26.7 million for the Upper Clark Fork River.

In addition, $4.5 million is to reimburse the state for its past technical and litigation costs. The state has released preliminary proposals for restoration of the three sites.

With the litigation finished, state and federal agencies and Montana citizens can begin planning how the money will be spent.

"In Butte, for example, the community must develop a plan for how to best use these dollars," he said in a news release. "There are some good ideas out there." — Reporter Justin Post may be reached via e-mail at justin.post@lee.net. The Associated Press contributed to this report.