The planned unit development calls for a total of 421 units, including 125 single-family residences on detached lots, 56 single-family townhouse sublots and 240 multi-family apartment units, on 78.05 acres south of Aluminum Drive. The subdivision, which will be completed in three phases, will have two access points \u2014 one to Aluminum Drive and the other directly to the North Fork Road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An outcry of community disapproval<\/a> followed the project as it made its way through the planning commission and city council, with dozens of residents voicing a variety of concerns ranging from the subdivision\u2019s proximity to the active Superfund site, the strain on city infrastructure, the project\u2019s high density disrupting the existing neighborhood\u2019s way of life, and its disruption to wildlife in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ruis, who attended Thursday\u2019s CFAC tour, told the Beacon that he\u2019s already adjusted the development\u2019s configuration in response to community concerns, saying single-story homes for age 55 and up will now be adjacent to the nearby Aluminum City neighborhood, as opposed to three-story apartment buildings as it was first designed. Ruis said he is hopeful construction on the first homes will begin within a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have so much property and it\u2019s so beautiful, so you don\u2019t have to go so high like we do in the town,\u201d Ruis said. \u201cPeople that could afford a single-family home, and then the elderly could live in that [age] 55 home, and then say younger families that can get into a townhome, and you put all three of them together and it becomes one community.\u201d<\/p>\n While the city fielded several complaints from residents about the apartment complex heights, one of the most prominent concerns was about the development\u2019s location within the Superfund boundary.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Thursday, Allie Archer, a project manager with the EPA, relayed the same message as she had during Teakettle Heights\u2019 application process: the land has been carefully evaluated and cleared without need for remediation efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cI think just helping residents understand when it is within a Superfund boundary, you would expect there to be some sort of cleanup, but that although there\u2019s no cleanup, it doesn\u2019t mean it wasn\u2019t looked at very, very closely for that residential standard,\u201d Archer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole 2,000 acres was sampled and would have been included in any cleanup measures that were required,\u201d she added. \u201cThere was none required for where that Teakettle Heights redevelopment is going, so it\u2019s free to be redeveloped and reused, and we just stay in communication with Mr. Ruis on what his future plans are, so that we can support that public communication. There won\u2019t be any restrictions on the area once we\u2019ve completed that sole remediation that\u2019s happening now. The groundwater has specific requirements around it and that won\u2019t be a factor because the Teakettle Heights will be a part of the city water.\u201d<\/p>\n Archer also noted that there\u2019s no concern regarding the development\u2019s construction, saying \u201cconstruction here won\u2019t impact anyone, especially the workers that are doing the construction.\u201d<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s visit from top officials came about two months after the announcement of the Superfund site\u2019s consent decree where Columbia Falls Aluminum Co., LLC officially agreed to the roughly $57.6 million price tag attached to the cleanup plan<\/a>, which is outlined in the Record of Decision (ROD) signed by the EPA and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in January 2025<\/a>.\u202f<\/p>\n The ROD \u2014 a 423-page document<\/a> that followed a proposed plan released in 2023<\/a> \u2014 provided a detailed account of the EPA\u2019s plan to contain pockets of toxic waste buried on the sprawling property at the base of Teakettle Mountain that has been dormant since CFAC shuttered in 2009.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout the tour on Thursday, Archer walked Gianforte and Zeldin through the key components of the cleanup plan, which includes: \u200bslurry walls designed to isolate waste and prevent contaminant migration; \u200bimproved waste covers to reduce exposure and infiltration; an on-site landfill to safely encapsulate contaminants without off-site disposal; and \u200blong-term monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of the remedy over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a lot of scrutiny, this is going to address the contamination, hazardous materials, and eliminate exposure to prevent contamination of groundwater and the Flathead River, which is right over here, near and dear to my heart,\u201d Gianforte said in reference to the ROD. \u201cThe First Lady and I one month ago were camping on the gravel bar just down below here, having floated from the Canadian border all the way to Evergreen, so we got to keep it clean.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n During his remarks, Zeldin told the crowd that Columbia Falls is at an \u201cimportant milestone moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most exciting steps of the Superfund process is being able to delist a project at the end of it; to be able to get an important vision not just started, but completed,\u201d Zeldin said. \u201cUnfortunately, while I\u2019ve had a chance to visit a lot of Superfund sites, I have to tell you that some are facing what will likely be decades of work, and really never-ending work, unfortunately. We are at a very important milestone moment here in Columbia Falls, where there is just so much incredible progress imminently ahead on this project.\u201d<\/p>\n On Aug. 31, the EPA and DEQ filed the proposed consent decree for the CFAC site with the U.S. District Court, meaning a federal judge will now review the decree, along with the public comments<\/a> submitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Grassroots group Coalition for a Clean CFAC submitted one of two public comments for the consent decree, with the group saying it finds \u201ca number of issues of concern including lack of specifics on: long-term monitoring and maintenance; long-term financial assurance; discovery of new hazards; and enforceable requirements for maintenance, monitoring, repair, and corrective action.\u201d The group, however, noted the lack of specifics gives the EPA and DEQ \u201cdiscretion to adjust the actual process as construction progresses, and new monitoring data comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we continue to believe there are other options more favorable to the long-term effectiveness for the protection of human health and the environment, we understand the Record of Decision has been made and the Proposed Remedy is moving forward,\u201d Board of Directors Chair Tony Haag stated in the public comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_CFAC_TOUR_0204-1200x800.jpg\")
Developer Mick Ruis and his wife Wendy attend a tour of the CFAC Superfund site in Columbia Falls on Sept. 17, 2026. Ruis will build a suburb on the Superfund site as it undergoes remediation. Hunter D\u2019Antuono | Flathead Beacon<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_CFAC_TOUR_0253-1200x800.jpg\")
Gov. Greg Gianforte speaks during a tour of the CFAC Superfund site in Columbia Falls on Sept. 17, 2026. Hunter D\u2019Antuono | Flathead Beacon<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260917_CFAC_TOUR_0278-1200x800.jpg\")
Gov. Greg Gianforte speaks during a tour of the CFAC Superfund site in Columbia Falls on Sept. 17, 2026. Hunter D\u2019Antuono | Flathead Beacon<\/p>\n