Angela Brandt
Havre Daily News
abrandt@havredailynews.com
A public meeting will be held Monday to inform businesses and interested Havre residents about environmental issues that may arise with the upcoming First Street reconstruction project.
A question-and-answer session will be held with officials from the Montana Department of Transportation and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.
Cora Helm, a geologist who works in the hazardous waste section of MDT, will be fielding questions at the meeting. Helm will be helping local businesses deal with possible petroleum contamination and grants that can be used to cover cleanup costs.
“For the number of (gas) stations in Havre the contamination isn't nearly as bad as it could be,” she said today.
She will be discussing the processes of dealing with contaminated water and soil in the upcoming project. Helm said owners of adjacent businesses might not know about possible contamination.
If new contamination is found, the landowner must alert the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to assess the situation and fill out paperwork about the area.
DEQ has a simplified process for businesses and landowners to address suspected or confirmed contamination, which will be available in handouts at the meeting and can be accessed at www.deq.mt.gov/ust/mustnews/mustwinter2006.pdf, said Pete Bergeron, environmental science specialist with the DEQ Petroleum Release Section. Bergeron and Jeff Kuhn, the petroleum release section manager for DEQ, will be available to answer questions at the meeting.
The meeting is Monday at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
The First Street project is set to begin in spring of 2007. Improvements will include 33 blocks of total infrastructure reconstruction.
