By Ron VandenBoom
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has set the date for a public meeting on the November 2000 Final Draft Remedial Investigation Report (RI) on the BNSF Fueling Facility in Havre.
The meeting is scheduled to be held in the City Council Chambers at 7 p.m. on May 24, and the public is encouraged to attend.
Doug Martin, DEQ project officer for the Havre cleanup, said the meeting will consist of a brief overview of the Final Draft RI and be followed by a question and comment period.
The findings in the report include a summery of ongoing investigations and testing that has been conducted in North Havre, on Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) property, and on the south side of BNSF property along First Street and between Second Avenue and Fifth Avenue.
The three-volume RI is currently available for public inspection at the Hill County Library and at the office of the Hill County Sanitarian, Clay Vincent, In the Hill County Courthouse.
"The purpose of the report is to establish the nature and extent of contamination," Martin said.
The meeting will give local residents a chance to give input or express concerns about the RI.
Comments will be considered for inclusion into the final RI after the completion of the 60-day comment period that began April 16 and will end June 14, 2001, at 5 p.m.
For more information or to comment in writing about the RI, contact Doug Martin at the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Remediation Division, P.O. Box 2009001, Helena, 59620-0901.
Martin also can be contacted by e-mail at domartin@state.mt.us.
