DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Data layers related to:

• Abandoned/Inactive Mine sites
   
• Active and Inactive Leaking Underground Storage Tank sites
   
• Active and Inactive Regulated Underground Storage Tank sites
   
• State Superfund sites (including CECRA, CALA, and VCRA)
   
• Other Remediation response sites (including ACGP, WQA, and Brownfields)
   
• Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Board sites

are available for query, display, and reporting purposes through the Montana State Library, Natural Resource Information System (NRIS) Digital Atlas interactive mapper and Online Query Service tools.

The Remediation Division is encouraging all interested persons to visit our website and use the above features for all initial inquiries. Interested persons can search for information and print site maps using the same data sets the department would use for this purpose. Maps and associated data produced from the website query tools can be used to document the location of sites within a specific area.

Other reports are available via DEQ's Online Services page.

Remediation Division Headquarters located at 1100 N. Last Chance Gulch in Helena, Montana contains indexed libraries of documents, reports, and correspondence pertaining to:

• Abandoned mine files - Coal and Non-Coal mine sites and reclamation projects in Montana
• LUST-Trust site files - Petroleum release sites which use LUST-Trust funding in Montana
• LUST site files - Petroleum release sites in Montana
• PetroFund site files - Petroleum tank release compensation fund sites.
• Superfund site files - State superfund sites in Montana

For inquiries related to abandoned mines files, please contact John Koerth, Abandoned Mines Bureau Chief at (406) 841-5026. For all other libraries, please contact Jo Wallis DEQ-Remediation Records Manager for more information at (406) 841-5007. Libraries can be viewed during normal business hours.

Should a person find sites in or near their area of interest, the Remediation Division can then be contacted for more specific site information or the interested party can visit our office location to view hard copy files. Hard copy files can be viewed during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, except state holidays). For inquiries related to abandoned mines, please contact John Koerth, Abandoned Mines Bureau Chief at (406) 841-5026. For all other inquiries, please contact Jo Wallis Remediation Records Manager for more information at (406) 841-5007.

DEQ photocopying and research charges are as follows:

• DEQ administrative support staff  time is billed at $12.42 per hour.
• Photocopy charge is 10 cents per page.
• Support staff time and 10 cent per page copy charges are not billed unless they exceed $30.00.

Note: Research time is charged only if it exceeds one hour. If copying, duplication and/or shipping is processed by an outside vendor, then actual vendor costs are charged per vendor invoice.

Please remember that not all sites addressed by the Department have spatial coordinates that allow them to be plotted on a map and that there are sites with coordinates that were derived by methods that may not achieve the level of accuracy desired. In addition, there may be sites, unknown to the Department that could also impact your project. Always conduct a thorough on-site inspection and contact this Department if you find evidence of a site not in our records or identify inaccuracies in our data.

Other Divisions within the Montana DEQ maintain separate hard copy files and electronic information systems. For other DEQ program information/records, you will need to contact other DEQ divisions, such as the Enforcement Division at (406) 444-0379, Permitting and Compliance Division at (406) 444-4323, and the Planning, Prevention and Assistance Division at (406) 444-6697 or visit the DEQ’s website.