Oral Presentations
Effectiveness and Community Engagement of Superfund: Smurfit-Stone Mill Case Study
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Brian Chaffin
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Department of Society and Conservation
Abstract / Artist's Statement
The Smurfit-Stone Mill operated in Frenchtown, MT from 1957 until 2010, releasing toxic pollutants into the Clark Fork River and surrounding areas. Despite environmental protests since the 1960s, substantial action to remedy environmental damage did not occur until 2015. Stakeholders including local residents, Indigenous tribes, Missoula County, and environmental non-profits have advocated for comprehensive site characterization, a timely cleanup, and robust community engagement. While residents and visitors contend with elevated toxins in fish tissue, prompting a 100-mile fish consumption advisory near the Smurfit-Stone Mill, the Environmental Protection Agency is several years away from determining the scope of a remediation. Community members and other stakeholders have expressed dissatisfaction with how their input has been integrated in the Superfund decision-making process. This presentation provides an overview of Smurfit’s history, evaluates the Superfund process, and suggests future recommendations to more effectively clean contaminated sites. My proposal to improve Superfund includes: (1) implementing a modest tax on industrial corporations for post-operation cleanup of their site; (2) requiring corporations to maintain clean operations; (3) compensating Community Advisory Groups (CAGs); (4) ensuring that Potentially Responsible Parties do not influence site characterization; (5) mandating ecological restoration whenever feasible; and (6) requiring polluting firms' representatives to attend CAG meetings. These measures aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and effectiveness in industrial site remediation.
Category
Social Sciences
Effectiveness and Community Engagement of Superfund: Smurfit-Stone Mill Case Study
UC 330
The Smurfit-Stone Mill operated in Frenchtown, MT from 1957 until 2010, releasing toxic pollutants into the Clark Fork River and surrounding areas. Despite environmental protests since the 1960s, substantial action to remedy environmental damage did not occur until 2015. Stakeholders including local residents, Indigenous tribes, Missoula County, and environmental non-profits have advocated for comprehensive site characterization, a timely cleanup, and robust community engagement. While residents and visitors contend with elevated toxins in fish tissue, prompting a 100-mile fish consumption advisory near the Smurfit-Stone Mill, the Environmental Protection Agency is several years away from determining the scope of a remediation. Community members and other stakeholders have expressed dissatisfaction with how their input has been integrated in the Superfund decision-making process. This presentation provides an overview of Smurfit’s history, evaluates the Superfund process, and suggests future recommendations to more effectively clean contaminated sites. My proposal to improve Superfund includes: (1) implementing a modest tax on industrial corporations for post-operation cleanup of their site; (2) requiring corporations to maintain clean operations; (3) compensating Community Advisory Groups (CAGs); (4) ensuring that Potentially Responsible Parties do not influence site characterization; (5) mandating ecological restoration whenever feasible; and (6) requiring polluting firms' representatives to attend CAG meetings. These measures aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and effectiveness in industrial site remediation.