Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 14 the Clark Fork's flow doubles. As it continues its journey, the river grows wider and wider, until it flows into Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille. In the 1870s, copper was discovered near the headwaters of the Clark Fork. ough many didn't know it then, the discovery was two-sided. One side led to a booming economy. Almost overnight the area became one of the largest mining, smelting, and logging centers in the world. Wealth and thousands of new jobs were created. Ornate, Victorian-style mansions lined many of the streets of Butte. Unfortunately, the other side of the mining factor led to a hefty IOU. A steady stream of pollutants flowed into the headwaters of the Clark Fork. en, in 1908, Mother Nature struck with e Great Flood. Water rushed through the mines, washed out most bridges, and spread toxins throughout the entire riverbed. e Clark Fork became one of the most polluted waterways in America. e insect and fish populations were decimated. By the 1950s few trout remained in the river. After World War II, horizontal and deep-shaft mining gave way to the more economical and less dangerous open pit (surface) mining. e even- tual result was the Berkeley Pit, a 1.5 mile, 1,800-foot, toxin-filled hole. But the pit wasn't the river's only major problem. Unstable and highly toxic chemicals settled behind the Milltown Dam. Some of the sediments flowed through and past Missoula, keeping the fish population down. Finally, people decided to act. Citizen organizations and federal agencies formed a conservation coali- tion. In 1963, thanks to the coalition's efforts, the United States Congress narrowly passed the Stream Protection Act, giving biologists the power to review any government project that could impact a river. Ten years later, Congress passed the Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act, giving biologists the power to review private projects. at act was eventually fol- lowed by the Superfund Act, initiating the cleanup of many rivers. en, in 1996, a thick ice jam threatened to destroy the Milltown Dam. e dam's gates were opened, sending a massive amount of contamination downriver. One half of all the fish in and near Missoula were killed. To prevent similar catastrophes and to lower the toxicity of the river, the dam, after a long, heated political debate, was removed in 2008. Contaminated sediment behind the dam was dug up, loaded onto train cars, and then buried in waste facilities near Anaconda, Montana. e Clark Fork, upstream of Missoula, became the EPA's most expensive Superfund site. e health of the nutrient-rich river greatly improved. Back to the Berkeley Pit. In 1982, the Atlantic Richfield Company closed the pit because of plummeting copper prices and shut off the underground water pumps. Groundwater contaminated by the old mines flowed into the pit and caused the ore in the pit to decay, releasing more toxins. With the water rising at about one foot per year, it was projected that by 2020 the contaminated water would reach ground level and flow into the headwaters of the Clark Fork. e Atlantic Richfield Company agreed to build the technologically advanced Horseshoe Bend Water Treatment Plant. By 2003, the plant was purifying 3.4 million gallons of diverted water before it could reach the pit. Site of the old Milltown Dam Wild surfing on the Clark Fork River www.distinctlymontana.com/river192 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Today when I stare into the river's clear water, although I know its history of pollution and fish kills, I also hear the river's sthing voice telling about a journey of hope and renewal.

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