Operable Unit Information
West Side Soils was originally called Non-Priority soils, as distinct from Butte Priority Soils, and was meant to address mining contamination outside of urban Butte, mostly large mining waste rock dumps and contaminated groundwater. The EPA completed the first major step in the Superfund process in 2024: the West Side Soils Remedial Investigation Report. EPA also evaluated metal contamination of the Blacktail Creek watershed, which is located south of Butte.
In addition to sampling soils, groundwater and surface water, the investigation report included ecological and human health risk assessments. That work continues.
What’s New
Superfund updates.
ARCO selects Butte Repository to dump toxic dirt in Silver Bow Creek cleanup
Date: Mar 27, 2026 Published By: KXLF News BUTTE -This summer, the plan is to start moving the more than 1 million cubic yards of contaminated dirt from Butte’s Silver Bow corridor and deposit it at the Butte Mine Waste Repository northeast of town. “This is a large…
Silver Bow Creek Greenway: A Legacy Worth Protecting
Date: Mar 24, 2026 Published By: The Montana Standard Guest View, Greenway Service District Board – Montana Standard March 24, 2026 In Superfund communities like ours, progress doesn’t always arrive with fanfare. Often it comes quietly and incrementally — mile…
September – October 2025 Superfund Update
CTEC Sep-Oct update Download the Update