EPA proposes beneficial use of Onsite Material at portion of the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site in Montana
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Butte, Mont. –– The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a position paper detailing the proposed use of onsite material as general fill within the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (BPSOU) at the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site. EPA will host a public meeting in Butte on Wednesday, August 30, to present details, answer questions and listen to perspectives on the use of onsite material and other topics related to cleanup progress. This announcement furthers the agency’s goal of enhanced transparency and community involvement at the site.
Onsite material is soil or other natural material which exists within a Superfund site and is often used to contribute to cleanup efforts. It is frequently used to serve important functions, including stabilizing soils and reducing erosion, containing, and immobilizing contamination, and supporting vegetation and restoration, among other beneficial purposes. As such, the use of such material is common. In fact, Superfund sites across the nation, including dozens of mining sites, involve cleanup remedies which intentionally and effectively use soils and other material onsite.
The measures proposed for onsite soils in Butte are intended to be rigorous. Under the BPSOU Consent Decree, material not exceeding established metals criteria, may be used on site only under specific conditions which minimize any movement to air, groundwater and surface water, and limit use to locations where people are unlikely be exposed. Additionally, all onsite material identified as potentially suitable for general fill will undergo extensive sampling and analysis to confirm it meet all parameters and criteria to protect human health and the environment before any use.
Using onsite material as general fill does more than assist with meeting project goals, it also provides direct local benefits such as minimizing impacts to public safety and roads from reduced transport and haul truck traffic. In addition, the unnecessary removal, transport and disposal of usable onsite material, and its replacement with fill material removed and transported from offsite locations, comes with additional potential environmental impacts in terms of fuel and energy use; air toxics and greenhouse gas emissions; erosion, runoff, and surface water degradation; and other environmental concerns. A critical aspect of developing effective onsite soil remedies is evaluating and appropriately using soil material when it contributes to cleanup goals; any material that does not meet established protectiveness criteria will be addressed.
A public meeting will be held on Wednesday August 30, 2023, from 6:00 pm to 8:00pm at the Butte Emergency Operations Center (3619 Wynne Ave, Butte, MT 59701) for the public to learn more about onsite material and to give public comments. To provide written comments, please address those to Charles Van Otten, vanotten.charles@epa.gov or by standard mail to Charles Van Otten, U.S. EPA, 1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, Colorado, 80202.
Statement from EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker
EPA onsite material position paper for the BPSOU.
More on the BPSOU Superfund site cleanup.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-beneficial-use-onsite-material-portion-silver-bow-creekbutte-area
