Gag order lifted in mine waste cleanup order

BUTTE – A district judge has lifted a gag order Tuesday on proposed cleanup of mine waste in Butte and public hearings have been set.
U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon modified the confidentiality order in the Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit agreement involving the cleanup of waste left in Butte by Atlantic Richfield Co. Details of the cleanup had been kept from the public for many years while an agreement was finally reached this year. There will be public hearings next week revealing some details of the plan.
“All four entities, ARCO, Butte-Silver Bow, the State of Montana and the federal government with the oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice will come out and explain all this stuff,” said Jon Sesso, the Butte Superfund Coordinator.
The public hearings will be May 30th from noon to 1:30 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. that evening at in the Montana Tech Auditorium.