Contaminated groundwater amendments underway at Bozeman Superfund site
EPA recently signed an Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent with Idaho Pole Company for groundwater work. Pilot EPA groundwater amendments began in August.
How does an entity without revenue come up with the money to clean up a contaminated Superfund site? That’s the question the Environmental Protection Agency set out to answer with the City of Bozeman regarding the high-profile Idaho Pole Co. yard.
The agency originally placed the site on its Superfund list in the 1980s after it was discovered that the wood-treating operation was contaminating soil and groundwater. Environmental engineers have since remediated the contaminated surface soil and relocated the treated soil to a couple of acres under 12 inches of clean fill – prompting EPA to remove much of the Idaho Pole property from the list in 2020 after determining no further action was necessary.