By Duncan Adams, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
A statement from the Montana Environmental Information Center cited examples of pollution past and present when expressing concerns about EPA budget cuts.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the last line of defense in the management and enforcement of life-saving air and water quality standards — standards that prevent death and disease,” the nonprofit said.
“A rollback of the EPA’s budget — which is already underfunded — will literally kill people,” MEIC said. “Montanans know well what happens when industry is allowed to run rampant — Butte and Anaconda residents still battle the pollutive legacy of mining that impacts water quality, soil health, and air quality.
“Billings residents live side-by-side with arsenic-spewing refineries, and the people of Montana face a future without regulations to tamp down on the toxins that pour out of the Colstrip-coal fired power plant,” MEIC said.
In addition, the organization said, “Lake Koocanusa is filled with toxic amounts of selenium from Canadian coal mines.”
MEIC added, “Without a federal backstop with the Environmental Protection Agency, Montana is in danger of sliding fully back into the days of the Copper Kings, where industry openly makes law and destroys our air and water in the process.”
