Abstract

In the 25-year effort to improve the Clark Fork River watershed, from its headwaters in Butte to the dam at Milltown, the Superfund-driven cleanup has been a remarkable achievement. Along the way, though, remediation decision-making has sometimes left questions, for example: How clean is clean enough? Why isn’t “total removal” ever completed? The practical reality of a risk-based cleanup law for hazardous wastes (CERCLA/SECRA/Superfund) is far different from the requirements of the clean air and water laws, which are more widely understood.

The presentation will draw a parallel between observations related to what’s been happening in the Upper Clark Fork basin and the four basic laws of ecology, as formulated by Dr. Barry Commoner and articulated in his early 1970’s environmental book, The Closing Circle. The lessons learned about the cleanup actions from Butte to Milltown reveal that, indeed, everything is connected to everything else (Law #1) and there is no such thing as a free lunch (Law #4).

The talk will conclude with an emphasis on the benefits of blending remedial action with restoration initiatives, and how various projects should be designed to maximize these benefits. In addition to bringing the scarred natural resources within the Upper Clark Fork River watershed back to robust life, the totality of the project must also stay vitally connected to the needs of the people who live and work from one end of the Basin to the other.

Start Date

5-3-2010 11:15 AM

End Date

5-3-2010 12:00 PM

Document Type

Presentation

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Mar 5th, 11:15 AM Mar 5th, 12:00 PM

25 Years of Butte Cleanup

In the 25-year effort to improve the Clark Fork River watershed, from its headwaters in Butte to the dam at Milltown, the Superfund-driven cleanup has been a remarkable achievement. Along the way, though, remediation decision-making has sometimes left questions, for example: How clean is clean enough? Why isn’t “total removal” ever completed? The practical reality of a risk-based cleanup law for hazardous wastes (CERCLA/SECRA/Superfund) is far different from the requirements of the clean air and water laws, which are more widely understood.

The presentation will draw a parallel between observations related to what’s been happening in the Upper Clark Fork basin and the four basic laws of ecology, as formulated by Dr. Barry Commoner and articulated in his early 1970’s environmental book, The Closing Circle. The lessons learned about the cleanup actions from Butte to Milltown reveal that, indeed, everything is connected to everything else (Law #1) and there is no such thing as a free lunch (Law #4).

The talk will conclude with an emphasis on the benefits of blending remedial action with restoration initiatives, and how various projects should be designed to maximize these benefits. In addition to bringing the scarred natural resources within the Upper Clark Fork River watershed back to robust life, the totality of the project must also stay vitally connected to the needs of the people who live and work from one end of the Basin to the other.