In a rare moment of unanimity, community members in the crowded Rimini schoolhouse on Wednesday night agreed on one thing -- no one likes the newest cleanup plan proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

They differed in their dislikes on a variety of levels.

Some want the community wastewater system completed, not pulled out of the ground after having spent $1.6 million on it, with only the hookups left to finish the project.

Others applauded stopping work on the system, but are opposed to constructing the $4.5 million water treatment plant, which has a price tag around 10 times the initial estimate and would serve about 25 full-time residents.

And others chastised the EPA over the lack of specifics in the proposed plan.

"It lacks adequate documentation to support the conclusion it will provide the same levels of protection for public health, and environmental health, that the 2002 Record of Decision (ROD) did," said Cathy Maynard. "The cost estimates are inadequately documented and not supported by information from other technical experts.

"The alternatives in the original ROD have been partially implemented with the support of the residents, in the belief that it would be completed. Failure to do so puts property owners at unacceptable levels of health risk and compliance with health standards that weren't in place when the original ROD was created."

Wednesday's meeting was an opportunity to provide formal public comments on the newest plan unveiled last month by the EPA to complete the work being done in the hamlet of Rimini, about 15 miles west of Helena.

The changes are part of the new proposed plan to finish the job of removing contaminated soils from the homes in Rimini and provide clean drinking water. A one-month extension to the comment period was announced at the meeting, pushing back the deadline to Dec. 3. That means a final decision probably won't be made until January or February, noted the EPA's Diana Hammer, who facilitated the meeting.

The EPA declared the Upper Tenmile watershed -- in which Rimini sits -- a Superfund site in 1999 based on high levels of lead, cadmium and other heavy metals in the yards and on the surrounding steep slopes. Two years later, the EPA said many Rimini wells were contaminated with arsenic, and they were living in the midst of what the federal government calls "a public health hazard," all due to the historic mining in the narrow, picturesque drainage.

The 2002 ROD called for drilling deep wells, then designing and constructing a water treatment plant for the town; replacing contaminated soils in Rimini yards and the road; and cleaning up about 70 of the 150 mines that dot the surrounding hillsides, as well as dealing with their acid mine drainage.

As a contingency, the EPA said it would build a community wastewater treatment system if the agency found that it had to disturb individual septic systems when doing the yard cleanup work. The reasoning behind that decision was that many of the individual systems don't conform to state and county standards and couldn't be easily replaced.

But the cost of the estimated $22 million project nearly doubled, not enough groundwater was available for the community water system, and questions arose as to whether the federal government was illegally enhancing property values by building a community septic system, which would serve properties both with existing septic systems and others that have nothing more than an outhouse.

Work on the project, other than replacing contaminated soil in yards, was halted last winter after top EPA officials asked for an internal review of the plan. Earlier this month, the EPA released the new proposed plan.

Some residents worry that without the community sewer system, if the continued excavation of contaminated soils disturbs their individual septic systems, they'll be forced into a showdown with the county.

"Thirteen (septics) have been damaged or destroyed," said Micky Brown. "They're now considered out of compliance with county zoning regulations ... now you want 20 property owners to risk having contractors come back?

"I'm requesting the EPA honor the promises made to our community."

But Jim Martin praised the decision to eliminate the community wastewater system, and urged the EPA to do the same with the $4.5 million water system. He supports individual water filters for people's homes.

"The EPA isn't in the sewer and water service business; that will show betterment," Martin said. "Just fix the road and let us install our own systems."

Whatever the final decision is, many just want the EPA to finish whatever it's going to do, and go away.

"The project has finally become too bizarre and wasteful for me to stand around and watch," Bret Boundy said. "It needs to be pruned so it can be finished n hopefully, sometime in my lifetime."

"Admit your mistakes, stop trying to save face, do the least required by the ROD and go home," added Michael Russell.

Review and comment

- Copies of the Proposed Plan for Rimini are available for review at the EPA's office at 10 West 15th St. in Helena or at the Rimini Field Office, 3400 Rimini Road.

- Written comments can be sent to Mike Bishop, EPA project manager, 10 West 15th St. Suite 3200, Helena, MT 59626.

The comment period runs until Dec. 3.

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com