Parrot tailings: EPA resists calls to remove mine waste in center of Butte - Montana Standard
BUTTE – Below the center of Butte flows water tainted with poisons drawn from a mass of mining and smelting waste that has been a pollution problem for more than a century. But a raging dispute centers on what to do about it – and about the mass of tailings from the Parrot mine and smelter that is feeding the deadly brew of metals-laced water. The polluted groundwater is moving toward Silver Bow Creek, and critics of the Environmental Protection Agency’s long-standing decision to leave the tailings in the middle of the city as “waste in place” say it could eventually endanger the... That EPA decision has been roundly criticized as being based on a flawed scientific model – and also for its intrinsic capitulation to the idea that Butte will never be able remove the taint of mine pollution. Nobody is saying the Parrot pollution is a human health concern – but Silver Bow Creek’s recovery is key to Butte’s desire to move on from the environmental damage caused by its mining legacy. In an interview, EPA’s manager for the Butte Hill portion of the Superfund cleanup acknowledged the inaccuracy of the agency’s earlier study on the speed the groundwater is moving. The manager, Nikia Greene, also said he is open to looking at data if the state can show evidence that removing the waste could clean water flowing through the site within the next century. Source: mtstandard.com
