Current Status of the WPSH

Nestled in the heart of the Northside Missoula community is the White Pine Sash Mill (WPSM) State Superfund site. The site is located between Scott st and Rodgers st, north of the Scott street bridge. As of now, there are 3 owners of the Superfund site. The northern most part of the property is owned by Scott Street LLP. The middle of the property is owned by the city of Missoula, while the southern most part of the property is owned by WWW investments. The chunk of the land owned by Scott Street LLP is currently an empty field with debris scattered in it. The land is currently overgrown and in need of some care. The city of Missoula has a park on the premises, the northside police depot, and a general city of Missoula vehicle yard. WWW investment's part of the land is home to zip beverage and a separate small lumberyard operation. 

Currently, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has assessed the site for cleanup options and has released their proposed plan. The MT-DEQ had a public meeting on March 11th to discuss the plan with people and to take their comments on the issue at hand. The MT-DEQ also had a public comment section that closed on March 30th. the MT-DEQ is currently assessing those comments and deciding on a plan on how to move forward. 

One of the big hurdles for the MT-DEQ has been deciding what the future land use will be for the site. The future land use will be a major factor in deciding what the standard is for cleanup at the site. The only part of the site where this matters however is the northside owned by Scott Street LLP. The other parts of the property are going to remain industrial for the distant future. The other chunk of land affected by the land use decision will be the park that is sandwiched in the middle of the site. The city of Missoula White Pine Park, is located in the middle of the site and is one of the many parks on the northside of Missoula. The city has stated that they are intent on keeping the park where it is and many residents support this decision. 

Here's a resolution brought forth by the Missoula City Council (authors Bryan Von Lossberg and Jason Wiener) informing the Montana DEQ about what they would like to see through the course of the cleanup.
City Council Resolution

Stay tuned for more information about the white pine sash mill superfund site.