Neighbors sue over rail yard pollution in Montana

February 15, 2008 - hirty-two neighbors have filed a lawsuit against BNSF Railway over rail yard pollution they say has contaminated and devalued their properties.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 24 in Lewis and Clark County District Court, alleges that BNSF is responsible for contaminating their yards and homes with diesel fuel, lead and other toxic substances by failing to contain and control hazardous materials at the Helena fueling station.

Many of the plaintiffs live or own property within a few hundred yards of the BNSF fueling station where, the suit alleges, the company dumped thousands of gallons of hazardous contaminants onto the ground. Those contaminants then migrated onto and under the plaintiffs' property, placing their "health, welfare and property values," in "serious jeopardy," according to the suit.

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Montana residents take power companies to court over well contamination and other issues

February 3, 2008 - Black and oily. Orange and brackish. Even slimy.

More than one Colstrip resident used those words to describe well water in their hometown. And they point their fingers at the Colstrip Steam Electric Station, alleging that the plant's discharge ponds are the source of the contamination.

The lawsuit, filed in 2003, was driven by two key complaints. Plaintiffs claim the plant's freshwater source, Castle Rock Lake, has leaked so much that it raised the water level under the town, leading to uneven settling and structural damage.

They also claim that the plant's discharge ponds have also leaked, sending a plume of contamination north of town into the nearby B&R Subdivision, down to the golf course and even into Armell Creek, which drains into the Yellowstone River, 30 miles distant.

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Polluted water could pose risks to residents of Billings Montana

November 13, 2007 - BILLINGS — Polluted groundwater beneath a Billings neighborhood could pose a long-term risk to residents, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The 140-acre underground plume southwest of downtown contains four “contaminants of concern,” including a solvent known as PCE, according to an EPA report released Monday. PCE, used in dry cleaning and other industrial practices, is believed to have been deposited decades ago.

The EPA has identified Big Sky Linen as the only “potentially responsible party” so far.

EPA officials could begin cleaning the site next spring and will be in Billings on Dec. 13 to discuss health risks. Cleanup could take several years at a cost of up to $7 million, The Billings Gazette reported in a story for Wednesday editions.

The biggest concern is that the pollutants in the contaminated groundwater are converting to vapor and seeping through the soil and into homes.

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EPA report details risks to Billings Montana residents who live above polluted groundwater

November 6, 2007 - Polluted groundwater beneath a Billings neighborhood poses long-term risks to residents living above it, but the immediate risks can be mitigated fairly easily, according to Environmental Protection Agency officials.

The 140-acre underground plume southwest of downtown contains four "contaminants of concern," including PCE, known formally as perchloroethylene, a solvent used in dry cleaning and other industrial practices, according to an EPA health risk assessment of the site.

The biggest concern is that the pollutants in the contaminated groundwater are converting to vapor and migrating up through the soil and into homes, where they might be inhaled.

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EPA wants prompt PCE cleanup in Billings Montana

October 19, 2007 - Cleaning up the source of contaminated groundwater beneath a Billings neighborhood could cost about $7 million and could take three to five years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The agency proposes quick action, saying that if unabated the PCE, a solvent used in dry cleaning and other industrial operations, could continue to contaminate the groundwater for decades or even centuries.

"Delayed action will increase public health risks," the EPA said.

Though the chemical is in the groundwater, the biggest concern for the EPA is that it has vaporized in some places and seeped up through the soil and into homes where it could be inhaled by people.

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Montana Family deals with tainted well water

September 27, 2007 - A Clark family whose drinking water has been found to have benzene in it has not noticed a difference in the water and plans to stay in the home.

Windsor Energy LLC discovered the benzene - the company's testing revealed the contaminant at levels seven times the federal maximum threshold levels - and notified the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Connie King, whose family lives in the home, said everyone has been responsive to the contamination issue and is doing everything to "make it right."

"I feel really fortunate that these are the people we're dealing with," she said, meaning DEQ and Windsor. The Kings have been using bottled water and intend to stay in the home.

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EPA proposes digging up polluted soil in Montana neighborhood

August 30, 2007 - The best way to choke off underground contamination in a neighborhood near downtown Billings is probably to dig out the polluted soil that has long served as its source, a federal official said Wednesday.

Kerry Guy, leader of Environmental Protection Agency team investigating the Billings PCE site, said he's going to recommend that an estimated 1,500 cubic yards of polluted soil near Seventh Street West and Central Avenue be excavated, possibly by next spring.

That step should eliminate much of the pollution that has formed a groundwater plume more than seven blocks long and several blocks wide, starting from Seventh and Central and moving northeast to Division Street.

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Health authorities blame contamination for sickening one of every eight people in Libby Montana

July 31, 2007 - Libby is home to the now-closed W.R. Grace vermiculite mine. The vermiculite was used in a variety of household products. And it contained tremolite asbestos, which is blamed by some health authorities for killing about 200 people, and sickening one of every eight people in Libby.

The EPA declared the area a Superfund site.

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EPA Examins Montana Homes for Groundwater Contamination

July 12, 2007 - The Environmental Protection Agency is returning to Billings this week to look at the source of a decades-old groundwater contamination plume and decide how best to mitigate its effects.

The agency is also planning on testing beneath about 20 more homes southwest of downtown as part of an ongoing investigation into the polluted groundwater.

The plume is more than seven blocks long and several blocks wide starting from around Central Avenue and Seventh Street West and moving northeast to Division Street.

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