This, the fourth of the six markers, tells of the beginning of the daunting task of cleaning up the Milltown site ant who was involved in the cleanup. The markers are at the end of a paved walking path which leads downhill from a parking area on Deer Creek Road. Access to the road is from Highway 200 in Bonner via Speedway Avenue.
The 500 acre park extends from the Clark Fork River, just north of the confluence, up the slope to forested lands above. Much of the park is still undergoing restoration and is expected to be fully open by 2015. The viewpoint has an excellent view of the cleanup site, including the old dam site. Though the dam has been mostly removed, its footings remain under water and the old powerhouse to the north of the dam remains in place. From this viewpoint one may also see the 1921 roadway bridge in the distance as well as two of the original Great Northern railway bridges.
Restoring a Natural Path
In the late summer of 2006 construction work began on the cleanup and restoration of the Clark Fork River.
The first step was to draw down the reservoir in three stages over three years and remove the contaminated sediments that had accumulated behind the dam. Workers diverted the Clark Fork River into a bypass channel to make the excavation easier and minimize the release of arsenic, copper and other heavy metals downstream.
Scoop-by-scoop, excavators dug up three million tons of contaminated sediment over the next two years (2007-2009), shipping it by rail to a repository at the Anaconda Smelter Superfund site.
REMOVING THE DAM
The Milltown Dam was removed in two stages. First, the brick powerhouse was isolated by a temporary coffer dam and demolished. On March 28, 2008, the dam was breached and the Clark Fork River flowed freely through the confluence for the first time in a century.
A year later, workers completed the removal of the concrete and timber spillway. The project opened up thousands of square miles of habitat to native fish, among them bull trout, which once again can migrate up the Blackfoot River to spawn in its tributaries.
BETTER WATER FOR ALL
One of the main goals of the Milltown project is to reclaim the contaminated groundwater. A network of monitoring wells tracks the progress of the Milltown aquifer's recovery. Since the project began in 2006, arsenic levels have dropped significantly in many of the wells and the EPA estimates that the groundwater could be safe to drink again within a decade.
WHO WAS INVOLVED?
LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL &
TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS |
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS |
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
Missoula County Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality
Montana Dept. Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Montana Dept. of Justice-
Natural Resource Damage Program
Montana Dept. of Natural Resources
Conservation
Montana Dept. of Transportation
US Army Corps of Engineers
US Dept. of Justice US Environmental Protection Agency
US Fish and Wildlife Service
US Geological Survey
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Bonner Community Council
Bonner Development Group
Bonner School
Carpenters Union Local #28
Clark Fork Coalition
Clark Fork River Technical Assistance
Committee
Five Valleys Land Trust
Friends of Two Rivers
Milltown Superfund Redevelopment
Working Group
Missoula Sheriff's Posse
Trout Unlimited
Thousands of engaged citizens
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MILLTOWN SUPERFUND TIMELINE
1908
Milltown Reservoir flooded with contaminated sediments.
1980
Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), better known as the Superfund law.
1981
Arsenic discovered in Milltown drinking water; homes placed on bottled water.
1983
Milltown Reservoir listed as the first federal Superfund Site in Montana; the State of Montana sues ARCO for natural resource damages at Milltown and other upper Clark Fork River sites.
1985
New, safe drinking water well installed for Milltown residents.
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1996
Study of possible cleanup options nearly completed. Ice jam occurs.
1997
EPA and State begin multi-year effort to reevaluate and expand possible cleanup and restoration options.
2000
Dam removal and cleanup is proposed by Missoula County and the Clark Fork Coalition.
2003
Milltown Superfund Redevelopment Working Group begins community and park planning work.
2004
EPA and the State of Montana propose dam removal.
2005
The State of Montana, the United States, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, ARCO and NorthWestern Corporation reach a negotiated agreement to remove the dam and contaminated sediments and restore the river and floodplain.
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2007
Clark Fork bypass channel built; sediment removal begins.
2008
Milltown Dam powerhouse demolished; dam breached.
2009
Dam's spillway removed; sediment removal concludes.
2009-2012
Roughly 17,000 feet of river channel and 400 acres of floodplain are reconstructed in former reservoir area.
2010
Clark Fork River diverted into new channel.
2010-2012
State of Montana acquires former reservoir and surrounding lands to create Milltown State Park and begins park development.
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From the marker