In Landmark Agreement $83 Million Entered at Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site, in Deer Lodge Valley, Montana  

On December 16, 2022, the United States District Court in Butte entered a consent decree (CD) for the Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site. Decades of copper smelting activity in the town of Anaconda polluted the soils in yards, commercial and industrial areas, pastures, and open spaces throughout the 209-square-mile Anaconda site. Under the CD, Atlantic Richfield (AR) will clean up residential yards in the towns of Anaconda and Opportunity, clean up soils in upland areas above Anaconda and after that, ensure protective closure of the remaining slag piles at the site. This CD follows other important settlements and orders with AR over the past two decades that have substantially improved the environment and restored valuable natural resources in the Upper Clark Fork basin. This settlement is also the product of a successful federal-state partnership to secure cleanup of a major hazardous waste site.

Over 90% of cleanup work of the $83 million settlement with AR is complete, including construction, monitoring, and long-term maintenance. In addition, AR will also pay $48 million to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for past and interim response costs and future oversight costs. Also, approximately $185,000 will be given to the U.S. Forest Service for oversight of future cleanup actions on Forest Service-administered lands at the site.

On this page:

• Information about the Atlantic Richfield Company
• Information about the Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site
• Overview of the Consent Decree
• Contact Information

Information about Atlantic Richfield Company

Around 1902, ore processing and smelting operations began at Anaconda Smelter on Smelter Hill, south of the Old Works and east of Anaconda. In 1977, Atlantic Richfield Company purchased the Anaconda Co. Smelter. Operations at Anaconda Smelter ceased in 1980 and the smelter facilities were dismantled soon thereafter.

Information about the Anaconda Smelter Site

The 209-square-mile Anaconda Co. Smelter site is located at the southern end of the Deer Lodge Valley in Montana, at and near the location of the former Anaconda Copper Mining (ACM) Company ore processing facilities. In 1884, ACM and its predecessors started large copper concentrating and smelting operations at the area presently known as the Old Works. The Old Works was located on the north side of Warm Springs Creek next to the town of Anaconda and operated until about 1901.

Over a century of milling and smelting operations, high concentrations of arsenic, lead, copper, cadmium, and zinc were produced. These wastes contaminated soil, groundwater, and surface water with hazardous chemicals. In September 1983, EPA placed the Anaconda Co. Smelter site on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) to address the contamination. EPA is the lead agency with AR conducting site activities through administrative orders. More information can be found on the Anaconda Smelter Superfund site web page, in the press release, and the settlement agreement.

Overview of the Consent Decree

The CD was lodged with the United States District Court in Butte on September 30, 2022. Under this settlement, AR will finish remediating residential yards in the towns of Anaconda and Opportunity, clean up soils in upland areas above Anaconda, and eventually effect the closure of remaining slag piles at the site. AR estimates the cost of its remaining site work, including operation and maintenance activities intended to protect remediated lands over the long term, at $83.1 million.

On December 19, 2022, the EPA also finalized an amendment to the 1994 prospective purchaser agreement (PPA) with the State of Montana, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, and the Old Works Golf Course Authority Inc., as purchasers. The agreement provides liability protection to the purchasers in exchange for implementing certain work in support of the Anaconda Smelter NPL site, at Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, Montana.  

Contact Information

For more information contact:

David Piantanida
Regional Congressional Liaison
U.S. EPA
Region 8
1595 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202
(720) 661-7482
[email protected]

Dana Barnicoat
Community Involvement Coordinator
U.S. EPA
Region 8
1595 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202
(406) 560-6261
[email protected]