copyright PMunday Historical Preservation, Environmental Cleanup, and the Restoration Economy Pat Munday, PhD Professor of Science & Technology Studies
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3 America’s Largest Superfund Site
copyright PMunday Federal Legislation 1935: Historic Sites Act 1960: National Historic Landmarks 1966: Historic Preservation Act 1970: Environmental Protection Agency 1980: Superfund; National Priorities List
copyright PMunday Key Local Events 1955: transition from underground to open pit mining –Loss of neighborhoods; plan to move uptown –1976: residents refused plan for pit expansion 1962: Butte uptown as National Historic Landmark (expanded 1972; 2006) 1963: “World Museum of Mining” 1977: ACM-Arco merger (Arco as Responsible Party) 1980: Anaconda smelter closed
copyright PMunday Key Local Events 1983: Berkeley Pit closed; Montana sued Arco for Natural Resource Damages 1984: Wanted: Butte houses, will move… 1985: Butte Historic Preservation Office; historic zoning 1989: Citizens Technical Environmental Committee 1994: Butte Citizens for Preservation & Revitalization 2006: Butte Restoration Alliance
copyright PMunday Butte as Postindustrial City Mining Culture as identity Mythic struggle –Dangerous occupation –Union vs. the company End of mining construction of new identity Historic preservation of structures, landscape Cleanup of hazardous waste (arsenic, heavy Mx) Pragmatic: “Restoration Economy”
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9 Berkeley Pit viewing stand display
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copyright PMunday Preservation vs. Cleanup? Historical preservation at Superfund sites –Local cultural significance (Quinn 1988, 1992) –Archaeological & historic information (Quivik 2000, 2001; White, 2003) –“Myth of permanence vs. myth of transience” in American history (Schwarzer 1994) Remarkably little controversy in Butte
copyright PMunday Historic preservation and environmental protection Gallows frames: sense of place; identity politics; paid in blood & sacrifice Granite Mtn landscape: technological sublime; monument; pragmatic compromise Black Slag Canyon: interesting historical feature; pragmatic compromise
copyright PMunday “All History is Local” Historic preservation, environmental cleanup, restoration economy: acts of political resistance Butte as quasi-company town (Anaconda Copper Mining Company, or “ACM”) Strong labor movement Mistrust of ACM/Arco Sense of place encompassing both industrial history and environmental health
copyright PMunday Conclusion Pragmatic approach to balancing cleanup with preservation Preserve individual structures with high symbolic value Preserve landscape features if minimal compromise with environmental & human health Cleanup = jobs; preservation = symbolic benefits Several key activists instrumental in both cleanup & preservation “Make Arco pay” (“polluter pays” principle of Superfund) Arco: preservation/adaptive reuse cheaper than cleanup Challenge: artifacts do not speak for themselves; interpretation often lacking or narrow
copyright PMunday The author thanks the National Science Foundation for supporting this work (Award ID ).