WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW WITH THE CLEANUP?

START DATE:   Mid-January 2025 

ESTIMATED TOTAL COST:   $5 million+ (incl. monitoring & maintenance)

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LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: 

   ==> See all Phase 7 cleanup design and related documents HERE.

A 40-acre site ~10 miles south of Deer Lodge to the east of Racetrack Pond, running 2.2 river miles SW to NE beginning just north of Gemback Road. 

CHARACTERISTICS:

Relative to other phases, the Strategic Plan characterizes Ph. 7 as "Moderate Priority" for erosion and risk of contaminated sediments reaching the river; and "High Priority" for contaminated soil levels, as this area includes a public fishing access (see Strategic Plan, pp.11-12). DEQ estimates it will remove 135,800 cubic yards of mine waste-contaminated material from the site.

STATUS (as of May 2025)

Construction began in January and is proceeding on schedule (contractor is Intermountain Construction Services of Butte, who also worked on Phases 5/6, Silver Bow Creek, and the Trestle Area in Deer Lodge).  Please observe signs and use the temporary parking area to access Racetrack Pond. The river, but not the floodplain, is open to public use during construction. CFRTAC raised numerous issues in its comments on the Phase 7 design, including the extent and location of contamination removal (reduced from previous phases); the preference for more woody debris on banks and instream; the need to monitor the river's response to lower bank designs; and more.  CFRTAC was generally satisfied with the State's  response to comments, though some issues, such as how the 100-year Channel Migration Zone is applied to determine removal boundaries, will not be considered until future phases. (Learn more in our Feb 2025 newsletter.) The State currently estimates work will be completed by October 2025.

ESTIMATED START DATE:   Was 2025. Now likely moved to 2026

ESTIMATED TOTAL COST:   $20.62M (may change) 

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LOCATION & DESCRIPTION: 

Includes Arrowstone Park. Extends through Deer Lodge from the I-90 bridge at Exit 187 (eastbound) north to the city's boundary with Grant Kohrs Ranch (near the Cottonwood Creek confluence).  

CHARACTERISTICS:

This phase is of high concern primarily because previously capped soils at Arrowstone Park that contain arsenic and other contaminants have been exposed in some areas, creating public health risks. As noted in DEQ's 2024 Clark Fork River News, community concern led DEQ to prioritize cleanup here,  install safety signage, and add temporary soil caps on bare spots with exposed toxic contaminants. 

STATUS  (as of May 2025):

DEQ will conduct additional sampling at the site to examine soils at greater depth in some areas, and to do additional surface-level sampling in other areas. These findings will help determine contamination removal boundaries and depths, which is necessary before a cleanup design can be drafted. DEQ has continued to coordinate with EPA's toxicologist and the MT Dept. of Public Health & Human Services to determine cleanup levels for arsenic, which are expected to be more protective of human health than originally considered in the ROD, given the level of public use of the park. Cleanup here has been delayed as the State and EPA reexamine the arsenic cleanup standard to be used at the site. A stricter standard will be more protective of human health, but will likely also increase costs and cause delays. While the site is being monitored to determine if additional soil caps are needed to cover exposed soil, the public is advised to obey caution signs, avoid areas with exposed soil, and wash hands, boots, pets, boats, etc. after any potential exposure to contaminated soils, especially on the river banks.

COMPLETED PHASES (maintenance & monitoring underway):

• Phases 1 & 2: Completed in 2014 and 2016
• Phases 3 & 4A: Completed in 2023
• Phases 5 & 6: Completed in 2016 (Ph 5 pictured above)
• Phases 15 & 16: Completed in 2021
• Deer Lodge Residential Yards; Trestle Area; Eastside Rd. Residential Area; and Eastside Rd Pastures: Completed in 2011, 2012, & 2016
• See Phase Status Map below for locations of these & other phases
• For a detailed technical update, read the 2023 Status Report (Qualitative Rapid Assessment) for Phases 1, 2, 5, & 6 - released by DEQ and NRDP in April 2024

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NEXT UP AFTER PHASE 7 & PHASE 13/14 (described above):

• Phase 10/11 will be constructed concurrently with Phase 13/14. Sampling will begin in 2025 (contractor selection underway).

• Phase 12 will have some overlap with Phase 10/11 as it shares haul roads, which are all accessed from Sager Lane. Work is currently estimated to begin in 2027.

Phases 7 and 10-14 (described above) were prioritized for cleanup based on the ranking criteria described on p. 12 of the 2023 Strategic Plan. Other phases will be addressed in an upstream-to-downstream sequence after these higher-priority phases are completed. These include:

• Phase 4B:  Estimated to start in 2029. Phase 4A was completed in 2023. 

• Phases 8 and 9:  Estimated to start in 2030 and 2031. This area of the river is considered to be suitable to provide refuge for fish and wildlife displaced by work in earlier phases. 

• Phases 17 - 22: To be completed in order after Phases 8 & 9, with some possibly being combined. At roughly one phase per year, (with Phase 17 A & B taking a year apiece), annual start dates will be from 2032 to 2038.

• Maintenance and monitoring for completed phases is ongoing. The Strategic Plan estimates this work will continue beyond construction of the final phase from 2040 through 2044.