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The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway has been polluting the land between E. Alder Street and N. 2nd Street E. since 1880. In fact, their fueling and switching yard in downtown Missoula was first designated a Superfund site in 1994.

Residents in this neighborhood are forced to live in close proximity to free product diesel and other industrial compounds considered unsafe by the EPA. 

We can not allow this to continue—our citizens deserve better than a cesspool of industrial waste right in the heart of Missoula. 

Further, the open land along this railway is also going to waste. If properly cleaned, much of this Superfund site could be used for housing developments that Missoulians can afford. Amidst our housing crisis, we must create more options for affordable housing.

Currently, The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has only recommended an industrial-level cleanup: a limited solution that precludes any future residential developments in this area. 

Our city deserves better. The DEQ must hold Burlington Northern Santa Fe fully responsible to  clean up this Superfund site to a residential standard—ensuring a safer, healthier future for this Missoula neighborhood, along with more options for our city to grow. 

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) must require a full clean up of this Superfund site in order to create a healthier environment for our citizens

Only by fully cleaning up this Superfund site will we create more options for future housing in Missoula along with a healthier environment. 

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