Columbia Falls community questions EPA’s Superfund cleanup plan

COLUMBIA FALLS – When Heather Peacock’s high schooler was diagnosed with pediatric cancer in 2017, she started to wonder about the prevalence of the disease among local youth. Peacock and her family live a few miles from the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. Superfund site, a 3,000-acre complex where deer forage, bears roam and toxic chemicals leach into the Flathead River.

“I think it’s a valid question for the future of our community,” said Peacock, “how does this affect our children?”

The EPA-proposed solution includes building a slurry wall around a landfill and pond filled with hazardous materials, as well as adding a cap over the top of two problematic areas of the former Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. millsite.

BEN ALLAN SMITH, Missoulian

Peacock and other C-Falls residents — of which there are around 5,000 — wondered about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s $57-million plan to clean up the old CFAC site during a public meeting this week. The EPA has proposed a solution that includes building a slurry wall around a landfill and pond filled with hazardous materials, as well as adding a cap over

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