This, the sixth of the six markers, tells of the study and planning that went into the cleanup and of the 1996 ice jam which resulted in the removal of the dam. 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.
Finding a Solution
The Milltown Superfund cleanup and restoration was decades in the making, driven by years of study, planning and impassioned debate among locals from the Bonner-Milltown area and Missoula and political leaders in Helena.
EPA's and the State's earlier options focused on only the groundwater contamination and considered leaving the dam in place and declaring the polluted aquifer off-limits to new drinking water wells. But another force of nature would soon influence the future of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers.
THE POWER OF NATURE (AGAIN)
In 1996, the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers froze solid after three weeks of frigid temperatures, and then quickly broke up with the sudden arrival of warmer air. Massive ice chunks gouged the bottom of Milltown Reservoir, and stirred up metal-laden silt that spilled downstream, and led to a spike in fish mortality and a reconsideration of plans to leave the dam and the polluted sediments in place.
THE DAM MUST GO
After the ice jam, new concerns arose about the release of contaminated sediments from the Milltown Reservoir as arsenic posed a risk to public health and copper threatened aquatic life, like caddis flies and trout. The safety of the ageing dam itself and the 1998 listing of bull trout as a federally threatened species led to a 2004 proposal to remove the dam and sediment as a viable and permanent solution to cleaning up the Milltown Superfund site.
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
From the marker