Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it was drastically lowering the action level in Butte for lead in residential soils and interior dust. That level is proposed to be dropped from 1,200 parts per million to 175 ppm.

The proposal will also greatly expand the boundary of the cleanup area. If testing in any house or yard inside that expanded zone hits that new level, it will have to be cleaned.

However, the EPA is planning to give those responsible for lowering the high poison levels — British Petroleum and Butte-Silver Bow — 25 years to reach compliance. Depending on how you read the proposal, they might have up to 40 years to clean up the expanded area.

That timeline is way too long. Our local government won't stand up for us, so we have to fight for ourselves. Email the EPA by Feb. 14, 2025 with your comments. The address is [email protected].

Tell them you're fighting alongside Sister Mary Jo McDonald.

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