CFAC’s draft Phase 1 Data Summary Report is now available on the contractor’s website:

• Draft Phase 1 Data Summary Report  

EPA is sharing this link for those who are interested in the information received to date. Please note this is in draft form while EPA and Montana DEQ review the document. If you have any comments, you may contact the EPA or Montana DEQ representatives listed at right or CFAC's contractor (CFAC-Comments@rouxinc.com).

On September 9, 2016, EPA added the CFAC site to the National Priorities List (NPL) making it eligible for additional study and cleanup resources under EPA’s Superfund program. The following documents support this listing; additional documents are available at regulations.gov.

•  NPL Site Narrative at Listing (PDF) (1 pg, 39 K, About PDF)
•  Support Document (PDF) (617 pp, 22 MB, About PDF)

The Anaconda Aluminum Co Columbia Falls Reduction Plant, also known as Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) Plant, is located two miles northeast of Columbia Falls in Flathead County, Montana. It covers approximately 960 acres north of the Flathead River, a fishery that includes the federally designated, threatened bull trout and the federally sensitive westslope cutthroat trout. EPA’s initial site evaluation indicates that groundwater and surface water at the site contain various contaminants of concern, including cyanide, fluoride and various metals.

The CFAC plant operated between 1955 and 2009 and created significant quantities of spent potliner material, a federally listed hazardous waste, as a byproduct of the aluminum smelting process. Spent potliner material is known to contain cyanide compounds that can leach into groundwater.

In 1985, CFAC bought the plant from Atlantic Richfield Company, which had acquired the facility from the plant’s original owner, Anaconda Company, in 1977.