Despite the turmoil over Asarco’s bankruptcy proceedings and the question of what entity will fund cleanup in East Helena, a small group gathered in East Helena’s city hall this week to try to figure out how to cut through the noose that’s strangling the community’s growth.

A redevelopment plan is in the works and a recent settlement agreement, if approved by a bankruptcy court judge, could turn almost 1,800 acres of Asarco-owned land that forms a band around East Helena over to the federal government.

A couple developers have voiced interest in purchasing portions of that land, as well as the former lead smelter site. A non-profit business development corporation is looking for funding to see if East Helena’s community water and wastewater systems can handle additional hookups.

But a century of extracting metals from ore at Asarco’s smelter, which is being dismantled, left lead, arsenic, cadmium and selenium contamination in the soils, in the groundwater and in attics, around footings and in basements.

Most of the undeveloped parcels, many of which are owned by Asarco, haven’t had any remediation work done on the soils.

And while more than 700 yards have been replaced in East Helena, the contaminants probably will be present forever, according to officials with the Environmental Protection Agency. “The rule of thumb is that at best you get 75 percent of what’s there because of foundations, sheds, things like that,” said Scott Brown, project manager for the EPA in East Helena. “That’s why it’s important to have institutional controls.”

These institutional controls, also known as ICs, include a range of options depending on whether they apply to residential, agricultural or undeveloped properties. But if they’re adopted by the EPA as part of the East Helena Record of Decision, it’s an important step toward allowing new growth to occur in East Helena.

“There have been proposals to try to develop these parcels, but until there’s certainty in the minds of the developers, those things just don’t come to fruition,” Brown said, adding that EPA headquarters are currently evaluating both the record of decision as well as proposed institutional controls, which will help in this area.

Probably the most important IC already in place is the East Helena Lead Abatement and Enforcement Program. The county administered program is funded by Asarco, and focuses on protecting children against exposure to residential lead.

On residential parcels, the institutional controls could be something as basic as monitoring previously cleaned sites. East Helena also needs to keep a close watch over people excavating soil for garages, gardens or decks, to ensure that recontamination doesn’t occur or that the dirt is distributed elsewhere. That can be as simple as talking with people who pick up building permits, said Deb Tillo with the lead program.

Full Story: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/10/19/top/55lo_
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