An analysis of what to do with the deteriorating Mike Horse dam hasn’t started because the Helena National Forest isn’t clear on who is going to pay for the study.

Asarco owns the land on which the dam sits, east of the town of Lincoln, and had earmarked money in its general fund for the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis, known as an EE/CA. But after the former mining giant declared bankruptcy in August, questions arose as to where the money would come from for the analysis.

The Forest Service asked the judge overseeing Asarco’s financial restructuring to allow the study to be paid for from a trust fund created by Asarco for environmental cleanup, and the judge agreed. But Lincoln District Ranger Amber Kamps said there was some confusion over the judge’s decision.

“As discussions with attorneys from (the) Department of Justice, Office of General Council and the Asarco trustee began, it became apparent there was some misunderstanding,” Kamps wrote in an e-mail. “The trustee thought we were taking over all work items at the site … This, of course was not our intention.

“… So the trustee is concerned the Forest Service and Asarco could be spending against the same budget and overspend it. He is asking DOJ and the court for clarification. This clarification has yet to occur.”

Kamps said the analysis will cost around $50,000.

The lack of progress on the study concerns some residents living downstream of the dam, as well as conservation groups who are worried that a breach of the earthen dam could spew toxic mine tailings downstream into the Blackfoot River.

“That’s very disappointing. We had been led to believe they had already started the EE/CA,” said Bruce Farling with Trout Unlimited in Missoula. “We have a river with a restoration effort that’s drawn national acclaim. Now it’s a hell of a lot healthier than it was in the 1980s, but we still have a problem that could negate all those efforts.”

The original Mike Horse dam was constructed in the 1940s with metals-laced mill tailings being disposed of in Beartrap Creek, which eventually created a large mound of tailings held in place by a wooden wall. The dam runs across the mouth of Beartrap Creek, just above Mike Horse Creek, both of which flow into the Blackfoot River.

The dam failed during a flood in 1975, washing thousands of tons of toxic mine tailings downstream and killing most of the aquatic life in the upper 10 miles of the Blackfoot River. The dam was repaired and sits on land now owned by Asarco. The Anaconda Mining Co., which was purchased by Atlantic Richfield Co. in 1977, also has some responsibility for the structure, and is being drawn into discussions about remediation work, according to Kamps.

Matt Clifford, conservation director and staff attorney for the Clark Fork Coalition, said he is “worried but not alarmed” at the lack of forward progress with the EE/CA, but both he and Kamps believe the project can get back on schedule. The initial plan called for the EE/CA to be completed sometime in January or February, but any actual deconstruction of the Mike Horse Dam, or remediation efforts, wasn’t expected to begin until spring of 2007.

“We are definitely behind right now, but if we can get the judge’s clarification in January, we can get the EE/CA done in late spring or early summer,” Kamps said. “We’ll be directly working with Hydrometrics (the environmental consulting firm putting together the EE/CA) instead of going through Asarco, so we expect the process will go faster.”

Kamps added that Asarco has people under contract to monitor water treatment cells at the Mike Horse. However, she’s not sure who will be checking the structural capability of the dam during spring runoff this year because of the bankruptcy.

Recent engineering studies show that the dam is deteriorating and at risk of another failure, and earlier this spring, the road to the dam washed out and concerns were raised about water seeping through its base after significant rainfall in the area. The dam survived the heavy spring rains, and officials have noted that the danger posed to humans is minimal in the case of failure since there aren’t any homes in the area.

“We’ll have to see where things are on the bankruptcy … as far as monitoring goes this spring,” Kamps said. “But we also have an electronic device in the dam and can monitor it remotely online. We won’t rely on that solely, though.”

That doesn’t comfort Mark Gerlach, a Lincoln area rancher who witnessed the 1975 flood.

“It’s a dangerous, dangerous situation not just for the ecological damage to the river, but people now live in parts of the Lincoln valley that were under water in 1975,” Gerlach said. “If the dam goes, the damages will be exponential. I understand the process, but it doesn’t make any difference who funds it. It’s a dangerous situation and has to be addressed soon.”

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or by e-mail at helenair.com">eve.byron@helenair.com.