A final cleanup deal for a century of toxic smelting waste in the community of Anaconda goes into effect this week. Residents spoke about what a post-cleanup future might look like.

Near the entrance to Anaconda, at the base of the Pintler Mountains, looms a 585-foot-tall brick tower and a glassy black dune of toxic waste — relics of southwest Montana’s mining boom and bust.

[Archival tape] “Butte, Montana, copper capital of the world. Built on what has long been known as the richest hill on earth. Below the surface, the men of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company answer their country’s need for more and more copper.”