Wastes repository believed to be the source of seeps pooling on private property

Seeps identified on private property downslope of the Superfund wastes repository beneath the Copper Mountain Sports and Recreation Complex are likely contaminated with metals, the EPA said Wednesday.

The agency said seeps believed to be from the Clark Tailings Consolidated Waste Management Area are forming pools on the private property.

Atlantic Richfield/BP, deemed responsible under federal Superfund law for managing the repository, said it “is investigating the performance of the waste management area as required by the Butte Priority Soils Consent Decree.”

The entrance sign to the Copper Mountain Sports & Recreation Complex is seen on Wednesday in Butte.

JOSEPH SCHELLER, The Montana Standard

“Once the investigation is complete, Atlantic Richfield will develop a site model that will help inform future remedial design at the Copper Mountain site,” the company said.

EPA said it wants that investigation to determine the nature and extent of the seepage and its possible effects on groundwater, soils and surface water.

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