Little impact expected to major East Helena cleanup if EPA budget is cut

March 26--Proposed federal cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency will likely have little impact on major cleanup of East Helena and the former Asarco smelter site, but questions remain about the future of grant programs and other funding.

President Donald Trump's administration rolled out its proposed budget last week, which focused on bolstering spending for defense and border security. Among the cuts to pay for those priorities are significant reductions for the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as sizable cuts to the departments of the Interior, Agriculture and others.

The president's budget has yet to face Congress and will likely see changes before adoption.

Reducing EPA's budget by 31 percent as proposed would see the agency's $8.1 billion budget shrink to $5.7 billion and 20 percent reduction in workforce.

Cuts come in part through discontinuation of funding for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing the effects of climate change by regulating carbon emissions, but criticized in some circles as job stifling and overreaching, according to national media. Reductions would also come through elimination of various grants and programs and cuts to the Office of Research and Development.

Further proposed cuts include reduction in funding for industrial waste cleanup, including the well-known Superfund program. Montana has 17 federal Superfund sites including East Helena listed in 1984.

"Based on my understanding of the budget proposed by the Trump administration, the cuts in the Superfund program should not affect work in East Helena," said Cindy Brooks, Montana Environmental Trust Group East Helena Director of Cleanup & Redevelopment.

In 1998, contamination from Asarco's lead smelter resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement with the EPA for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Clean Water Act. The smelter closed in 2001, and after later declaring bankruptcy, Asarco placed about $95 million in a trust managed by the trust for related cleanup costs to land and water.

Work called "interim measures" is ongoing as a final smelter site cleanup plan has yet to be released.

The Superfund cleanup of East Helena coincides with cleanup of the old Asarco site. Much of the work under Superfund, which largely consisted of removing and replacing contaminated soil, has already been completed.

The trust holds title to Asarco lands and holds funds specifically earmarked for cleanup of the site, Brooks said.

"It is our hope and expectation that the impact of the proposed budget cuts will not affect the work," she said. "Our assumption is we'll continue to have someone from EPA reviewing and approving budgets and reviewing and approving cleanup plans."

Work directly involving the EPA includes the hiring of contractors and along with the state, analyzing any land transactions, Brooks says.

Questions posed to the EPA were not returned in time for this story.

East Helena Mayor Jamie Schell still has concerns about continued EPA funding beyond the smelter site, but says he has not heard specifics. He does feel confident about the security of cleanup funding held under the trust.

"I do have some questions and concerns and I'm waiting for more information on how the cuts could affect institutional controls, which to me are the soil regulations and rural water," he said. "Obviously EPA money comes in many forms and colors."

The settlement-funded and county-run Lead Education and Assistance Program (LEAP) provides a variety of services for residents in the area, including lead screening for children, environmental testing and education. The program also administers regulations for disposing and moving soil to prevent recontamination.

Funding for those programs appear to be secure under the settlement, Jan Williams with LEAP said.

Funding for multiple remediation and training grant programs such as Brownfields, which Montana typically sees about $600,000 annually, and remediation of pollution from underground storage tanks, are part of the President's proposed budget cuts.

State Sen. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, agreed with the security of the primary cleanup funding but echoed concerns about larger implications for federal cuts. While East Helenans and particularly those who worked at the smelter initially viewed the EPA with skepticism, the community recognizes the benefits of investment in the community, she said.

"We realize that if we want to have a future and move forward as a community we need to have a clean place to do that," Cohenour said. "The investment in the community has been great and part of that with these grants has given us the ability to get funding for things that need to be fixed in order to tell businesses that East Helena is a place to come.

"I see these kinds of cuts as pulling the rug out from under a lot of efforts in small communities to respond to our history of Superfund and what has taken them to that."

Particularly in lean budget years, the state of Montana will have a difficult time stepping in to make up the difference created in the proposed budget or even lesser cuts, she said.

"One of the hardest things I see is that we can't even find monies to deliver meals to seniors in their homes yet alone for something to rehabilitate Superfund sites," Cohenour said.

Brooks pointed to the Flat Creek Iron Mountain Mine, another site under the trust, located in and around Superior as one example where limited funds have been secured for cleanup. Plans call for the state to remove contamination but then EPA to step in to perform additional actions under Superfund, she said.

"If those funds are not available to complete the cleanup of Flat Creek, the assumption would be that costs would be borne by the taxpayers of Montana," she said.

EPA estimates its cost in the cleanup of Flat Creek at about $1.5 million.

Reporter Tom Kuglin can be reached at 447-4076 @IR_TomKuglin

___

(c)2017 Independent Record (Helena, Mont.)

Visit the Independent Record (Helena, Mont.) at www.helenair.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.