Sugesstions for Moving Forward: White Pine Sash

The Montana DEQ will decide it final clean-up plan after all the public comment is considered.  As of right now, the Montana DEQs main goal for the clean-up of the White Pine Sash Site is one that protects both human health and the environment.

Soil vapor point installation (2012). White Pine Sash Superfund Site, Missoula, MT.
     

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality will make its final decision about the cleanup process and future use of the Missoula White Pine Sash site after it considers relevant public comment, determining if any revision are necessary to their proposed plan. With this said, the Montana DEQ’s final cleanup choice is one that protects the environmental and human health.  It is understood that this area is hazards to human health and the environment, therefore the MDEQ is listening to the voices of the public and other parties.  But in the in the end, the Montana DEQ will go with what it feels is best for cleaning up this Superfund site and properly disposing of the contaminated waste.

Change at the Missoula White Pine Sash site is going to happen, the question being exactly how much change will happen, and how much of that change will be what the public wants.  The MWPS is a serious issue that deals with a contaminated area that is has been affecting the surrounding environment and residents since the lumber mill and wood treating facility first opened.  Stakeholders from all angles are involved, and have been included since talk of cleaning up the site was first started over a decade ago.

In the Montana DEQs proposed plan is an in-depth look at the final cleanup options for the MWPS site.  There main areas of focus are cleaning up the groundwater and soil at the site, properly disposing of the contaminated waste.  Their plan includes doing nothing, cleaning up these areas of the is the site to light commercial/industrial standards that have not already been cleaned up to these standards, or cleaning up the area to residential standards.

I contacted Moriah Bucy a representatives with the Montana DEQ who is one of the people responsible in overseeing the cleanup of the Missoula White Pine Sash Superfund Site.  She told me in her interview that the Montana DEQs proposed plan, their preferred remedy for cleanup of the MWPS is meeting the sever CECRA criteria, cleaning up the site to meet substantial and long-term risk reduction, provides measures to prevent future exposures to contaminated groundwater and soil vapor, attains that highest level of risk reduction compared to cost, and provides for long-term reliability.