Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Site

 

A number of DEQ programs are involved in oversight of the on-going demolition and cleanup activities at the CFAC Facility, including the Hazardous Waste, Asbestos Control, and Opencut Mining Programs, and the Water Protection and Federal Superfund Bureaus. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead agency for Federal Superfund proposed cleanup under the National Priority Listing (NPL). 

On September 7, 2016, the EPA announced that it will add the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company site to the National Priority Listing, effective September 9, 2016. Sites on the NPL are often referred to as Superfund sites. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up contamination at sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

 

Timeline

September 2016

On September 7, 2016 the EPA announced that it will add the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company site to the National Priority Listing, effective September 9, 2016. Sites on the NPL are often referred to as Superfund sites. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up contamination at sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

On September 6, 2016, DEQ received the most recent update from Carl Burnham of IRS Environmental regarding the quantity of asbestos material removed from the CFAC site to date. A current cumulative total of 64,480 pounds of regulated asbestos waste has been removed from the facility. The waste disposal receipts for August indicate the removal of an additional 87,780 pounds of non-regulated asbestos material, yielding a “to-date” non-regulated asbestos total of 886,010 pounds. Structures included in this removal include the West Rectifier, Rod Mill Building, Paste Plant, Quonset Hut, West Aluminum Unloader, Compressor Building, and Laboratory.

An asbestos project permit is in place through 2016 for the East Rectifier building and through October for the Building 1 complex. Demolition notifications remain in place for the East and West Rectifiers, Rod Mill Building, Laboratory Building and Building 1 complex.

August 2016

On August 02, 2016 DEQ received the most recent update from Carl Burnham of IRS Environmental regarding the quantity of Asbestos material removed from the CFAC site to date. A current cumulative total of 52,420 pounds of regulated asbestos waste has been removed from the facility. The waste disposal receipts for July indicate the removal of an additional 28,720 pounds of non-regulated asbestos material, yielding a “to date” non-regulated asbestos total of 798,230 pounds. Structures included in this removal include the West Rectifier, Rod Mill Building, Paste Plant, Quonset Hut, West Aluminum Unloader, Compressor Building, and Laboratory.

An asbestos project permit is in place through 2016 for the East Rectifier building and through October for the Building 1 complex. Demolition notifications remain in place for the East and West Rectifiers, Rod Mill Building, Laboratory Building and Building 1 complex.

July 2016

On July 6, 2016 DEQ received the most recent update from Carl Burnham of IRS Environmental regarding the quantity of asbestos material removed from the CFAC site to date. A current cumulative total of 35,080 pounds of regulated asbestos waste has been removed from the facility. The waste disposal receipts for June, 2016 indicate the removal of an additional 19,420 pounds of non-regulated asbestos material, yielding a “to-date” non-regulated asbestos total of 769,510 pounds. Structures included in this removal include the West Rectifier, Rod Mill Building, Paste Plant, Quonset Hut, West Aluminum Unloader, Compressor Building, and Laboratory.

An asbestos project permit is in place through 2016 for the East Rectifier building, through July for the Laboratory Building, and through October for the building 1 complex. Demolition notifications remain in place for the East and West Rectifiers, Rod Mill Building, Laboratory Building and Building 1 complex.

May and June 2016

On June 24, DEQ announced the Waste Management Plan for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Pot Room Building has been approved as required by the Administrative Order on Consent.The Plan covers the removal and disposal of 451 pot liners, which contain a listed hazardous waste known as K088, and any other regulated hazardous waste from the Pot Room Building. It includes an inventory of all hazardous waste and plans for waste tracking, dust management, decontamination, site safety, spills and protection of human health. The final CFAC Waste Management Plan is available here:  /Portals/112/DEQAdmin/CFAC/FINAL_CFAC%20WasteMgmtPlan_June2016.pdf 

On June 13, 2016 DEQ received the most recent update from IRS Environmental regarding the quantity of asbestos material removed from the CFAC site to date. The current cumulative total of 30,820 pounds of regulated asbestos waste remains unchanged. The waste disposal receipts for May 2016 indicate the removal of an additional 1,620 pounds of non-regulated asbestos material, yielding a “to date” non-regulated asbestos total of 750,090 pounds. Structures included in this removal include the West Rectifier, Rod Mill Building, Paste Plant, Quonset Hut, West Aluminum Unloader, Compressor Building, and Laboratory. An asbestos project permit is in place through 2016 for the East Rectifier building, and through July for the Laboratory Building. Demolition notifications remain in place for the East and West Rectifiers, Rod Mill Building, and Laboratory Building.

On May 24, 2016 DEQ received a response to its April comments to Calbag. CFAC has made comments and inserted additional items that will require further DEQ review. DEQ still needs appropriate financial assurance from Calbag.

April 2016

On April 13, 2016 DEQ provides comments on DRAFT Waste Management Plan.

March 2016

On March 8, 2016 DEQ receives the Draft Final Waste Management Plan, including financial assurance for removal and disposal of hazardous waste from Building 1.

Permits

Haz Waste Removal

CFAC is registered with DEQ as a large quantity generator of hazardous waste. No hazardous waste permit is required. The Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) addresses the storage of hazardous waste and its removal from Building 1, a 40-acre structure which housed the primary aluminum smelting operations. There are 451 pot liners that need to be removed from Building 1 (Pot Room). Of an average 110-ton pot, approximately 60 tons will be contaminated and given the designation of K088 hazardous waste. There are three disposal facilities for K088-related wastes; Calbag has indicated that it may use U.S. Ecology out of Idaho or Chemical Waste Management out of Washington.

Asbestos

DEQ’s Asbestos Control Program has been providing direct compliance assistance and permitting for CFAC since April 2015. The work at the facility has been divided into manageable phases to allow for a thorough accounting of waste materials. At the point when an application for asbestos removal is received for a particular phase, a required notification for demolition is also submitted and processed.

As of May 13, 2016, 30,820 pounds of regulated asbestos waste, and 748,470 pounds of non-regulated asbestos material has been removed. Structures included in the removal are the West Rectifier, Rod Mill Building, Paste Plant, Quonset Hut, West Aluminum Unloader, Compression Building, East Rectifier and Potline Complex.

An asbestos project permit is in place through 2016 for the East Rectifier building, and through July for the Laboratory Building. Demolition notifications remain in place for the East and West Rectifiers, Rod Mill Building and Laboratory Building.

Water Discharge

CFAC's first groundwater discharge permit was issued in 1984; this permit did not authorize a discharge to state surface waters. In 1993, after it was determined that CFAC was discharging to the Flathead River without a permit, the company submitted an application for an MPDES permit; DEQ first issued an MPDES permit in 1994, authorizing the discharge of process wastewater through groundwater to the Flathead River. In 1999, DEQ renewed the MPDES permit through 2004. Based upon CFAC's 2003 application for renewal, DEQ administratively continued the 1999 permit.

During spring 2013, DEQ determined that an updated permit application was required for renewal since the previous application was submitted in 2003, and outdated. Although CFAC had ceased all aluminum production from its facility in 2009, CFAC submitted its updated application in 2013 with the assumption that production could restart at any time. The renewed MPDES permit was effective September 1, 2014; however, CFAC has appealed portions of the renewed permit. The appealed portions of the permit have been stayed as a result of CFAC's appeal. The company's current MPDES discharge permit is set to expire in 2019.

Industrial and Energy Minerals/Opencut Mining

On October 29, 2015, the DEQ Opencut Mining Program approved permit #2724 for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company to obtain material from an area on the CFAC property east of the original aluminum plant location. According to CFAC, material obtained from the CFAC Borrow Pit will be used as back fill following building demolition activities. More information on this permit can be found at: http://searchopencutpermits.mt.gov/

Superfund (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

On March 26, 2015, the EPA proposed adding CFAC to the National Priorities List (NPL). The NPL is the list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. Adding a site to the NPL allows the EPA and the community to access significant technical and financial resources to address the environmental and health risks posed by the site.

The proposed listing was subject to a 60-day public review and comment period, which ended on June 2, 2015. The EPA reviewed and responded to all comments. On September 7, 2016, the EPA announced that it will add the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company to the National Priorities List, effective September 9, 2016. Sites on the NPL are often referred to as Superfund sites. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up contamination at sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

A notice of the listing is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register September 9, 2016. EPA will also set up a public meeting in Columbia Falls to discuss with the community the next steps and outline how the public can engage in the Superfund process moving forward. The EPA Support Document is 616 pages and is 22 MB.

In a statement announcing the designation, EPA Region 8 Administrator Shaun McGrath said, "The addition of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company site to the National Priorities List will ensure the comprehensive investigation and cleanup of contaminants and help secure future opportunities for the reuse of this prominent property along the Flathead River. EPA’s action is based on a thorough review of site data and input from the local community."

The next steps are the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS), which will be overseen by the EPA, in consultation with the State. The objectives of the RI/FS are to assess site conditions, determine the nature and extent of contamination, and evaluate alternatives to the extent necessary to select a cleanup plan. The RI/FS will expand on the screening level investigation already completed at the Site.

For more information about the NPL designation, visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/columbia-falls

On November 12, 2015, Glencore/CFAC announced that there is $4 million in financial assurance set up to take the project through the RI/FS process. At the end of November 2015, CFAC signed an Administrative Order on Consent with the EPA for the RI/FS.

EPA does not have any data that indicate Columbia Falls’ municipal water supply is impacted. Columbia Falls’ water supply is a groundwater source more than three miles from the sampled source areas. The municipal wells are sampled regularly as part of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements for municipal water supplies. 

For more information, visit the EPA website.

Enforcement Actions

DEQ sent a Violation of Administrative Order on Consent letter to CFAC and Calbag on October 26, 2015. The letter stated that the companies were in violation for not presenting an approvable plan to DEQ for the removal of hazardous waste from the Pot Room Building as required in the AOC.

On November 12, 2015, Calbag stated that all demolition work in Building 1 has been halted until the violation has been resolved. DEQ has had several conversations with the companies to resolve the issue. On June 24, 2016 DEQ accepted a Waste Management Plan and work on the facility has resumed.

Contacts

Cory Mikita

MT DEQ Logo

Hazardous Waste Removal
Phone: (406) 444-1435
cmikita@mt.gov

John Benoit

MT DEQ Logo

Asbestos
Phone: (406) 444-5286
jbenoit@mt.gov

Christine Weaver

MT DEQ Logo

Water Discharge
Phone: (406) 444-3927
cweaver@mt.gov

Colleen Owen

MT DEQ Logo

Opencut Mining
Phone: (406) 755-8966
cowen@mt.gov

Lisa Dewitt

MT DEQ Logo

Superfund
Phone: (406) 444-6420
lidewitt@mt.gov