The East Helena Site includes the former ASARCO lead smelter that operated for more than a century, and then ceased operations in 2001.
ASARCO transferred title to ±4,265 acres (plus about 2,000 acres of unpatented mining claims) at the four Sites in Montana on December 9, 2009, to Montana Environmental Trust Group (METG) as Trustee of the Montana Environmental Custodial Trust (Custodial Trust), and deposited approximately $138 million into the Custodial Trust for cleanup work. ASARCO also transferred an additional $39.5 million directly to the State of Montana for natural resource damages.
About $94 million of the funds that transferred to the Custodial Trust were earmarked for the East Helena Site, for treatment of arsenic- and selenium-contaminated groundwater migrating off the plant site northwest toward the Helena Valley and for stabilizing, controlling, and/or removing lead- and arsenic-contaminated soils on the former ASARCO land. The lands included ranches and farmland encircling three-quarters of the smelter property that were purchased because of concerns that contamination might be impacting the growing and grazing uses of the property.
Through the federal RCRA and CERCLA programs, EPA has had Lead Agency responsibility for enforcement and oversight of the East Helena Site. While the Custodial Trust took title to the property in 2009, the Custodial Trust acts solely as a fiduciary for the benefit of the Beneficiaries.
The Beneficiaries of the Custodial Trust are the United States and the State of Montana. The United States is represented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The State of Montana is represented by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Montana Department of Justice.
