Montana Dam Is Breached, Slowly, to Restore a Superfund Site

“There’s 150,000 abandoned mine sites and tens of thousands of miles of logging road in Montana,” said former Representative Pat Williams, who works at the Center for the Rocky Mountain West http://www.crmw.org , a research organization. “This project can be the epitome of a new restoration economy in this state.”

Milltown Dam, a symbol of industrial progress that became a symbol of destruction, was recently breached, and two parts of the Clark Fork River were joined again.

There was no dynamite, no wrecking balls, no “blow and go” removal. Instead, an earthen dam blocking a specially built channel was removed to allow a small trickle of water to flow through and gradually grow larger. The main part of the dam will be demolished over two years.

When the project is complete, it will cost $120 million.

By JIM ROBBINS

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/27dam.html?_r=1&oref=slogin