The 3,200-acre Smurfit-Stone Mill site is located 11 miles northwest of Missoula, Montana. The Site is positioned along the Clark Fork River and a pulp mill operated on site from 1957 to 2010. The area is currently undergoing historically significant flooding event. USEPA and stakeholders are monitoring the berm that separates the Site from the river for signs of instability. USEPA deployed and On-Scene Coordinator on May 24, 2018 for that oversight.
The core industrial footprint of the mill site covers about 100 acres. Over 900 acres of the site consist of a series of unlined ponds used to store treated and untreated wastewater effluent from the mill, as well as primary sludge recovered from untreated wastewater. Some ponds initially used to store wastewater were subsequently drained and used for the landfilling of solid wastes from the mill.
Flooding in western Montana has caused concerns whether contamination at the Smurfit Stone Site could be released into the Clark Fork River. The EPA Emergency Response Team is providing support to the EPA Helena Office in assessing any immediate risks at the Site.
