FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       DOJ -- 202-514-2008
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1996                     EPA -- 406-441-1123
                                            TDD -- 202-514-1888

JUSTICE, EPA ANNOUNCE $37 MILLION SETTLEMENT FOR MONTANA CLEANUP 

     ARCO, BURLINGTON NORTHERN AND 3 OTHERS WILL SHARE COSTS 


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Five parties, including Atlantic Richfield
Company and Burlington Northern Railroad, agreed today to a $37.7
million settlement to clean up land near Butte, Montana
contaminated by forty years of pollution from a wood treatment
plant, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection
Agency's Montana Superfund office announced today.

     Under the agreement, property owners or users of the Montana
Pole and Treating Plant, a Superfund site in Silver Bow County,
will reimburse EPA $2.7 million in past response costs and pay
$35 million for future cleanup.  These parties are Atlantic
Richfield, Burlington Northern, Inland Properties Inc., Montana
Resources Inc., and an individual, Dennis R. Washington.  Today's
settlement will allow the State of Montana, designated by EPA as
the cleanup's lead agency, to begin remedial cleanup this spring.

     Forty years of treating wood at the plant left the facility,
surrounding soils, groundwater and the nearby Silver Bow Creek
contaminated by hazardous substances including the toxic
pentachlorophenol (PCP).  Huge open vats, containing a mixture of
PCP and diesel fuel, and high-pressure cylinder machines, were
used to treat wood products at the plant.  Overflows, discharges
and other releases of the polluted mixture resulted in the
contamination.  In 1983, EPA took action to keep the pollution
from spreading off-site through soil excavation and groundwater
interception.

     "This facility treated wood better than it treated the
environment," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General
in charge of the Department's Environment and Natural Resources
Division.  "Today's settlement shows that our enforcement efforts
and federal and state cooperation are paying off.  It also shows
that Superfund -- which holds responsible parties accountable,
not the American taxpayer -- is paying off as well."

     "EPA is pleased that we were able to settle this matter in a
fair and responsible way, so that the parties' time and money can
be put towards cleanup rather than litigation," said John
Wardell, Director of EPA's Montana Superfund Office.


     Arco's predecessor, Anaconda Company, owned the land on
which the wood processing plant was housed.  Burlington Northern
leased property to the wood processing facility.  The three
remaining settlors purchased parcels of the contaminated
property. 

     In 1993, EPA and the State of Montana selected a final
cleanup remedy requiring excavation and treatment of soils;
containment and subsequent treatment of contaminated groundwater;
and treatment of contaminated oils and sludges in a licensed off-
site incinerator.  The State of Montana issued requests for bids
on this project last week and expects to complete the first phase
of the cleanup this construction season.  Implementation of the
remedy will return the site to usable commercial property without
risk to workers, nearby residents or Silver Bow Creek.

     The agreement was filed today in U.S. District Court in
Butte.  In addition to cost recoveries, the consent decree
provides that, if cleanup costs exceed $41 million, settling
defendants will be responsible for additional cost contributions. 


     Following notice of the consent decree in the Federal
Register, the Department of Justice and EPA will accept public
comment on the agreement, before asking Federal District Court
Judge Paul Hatfield to sign and enter the decree.

     Copies of the decree may be obtained from either EPA's Butte
office, located in the Butte Silver Bow Courthouse, EPA's Helena
office Records Center, or from the Department of Justice. 
Comments will be accepted for 30 days after the Federal Register
notice and should be directed to the Assistant Attorney General. 
For additional information, contact Henry Elsen or Jim Harris at
EPA in Helena, 406-441-1123.

     Today's consent decree comes in the case of United States v.
Torger L. Oass, et al., Civil Action No. 90-75-BU-PGH (D.
Montana). 
                                 
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