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SUMMARY: Conclusion of lawsuit will provide money needed to help restore natural resources.

It looks like a $765 million lawsuit brought by the state of Montana nearly 25 years ago may finally be settled by the end of this year.

The natural resource damage lawsuit was originally meant to force the Atlantic Richfield Co. to cover the estimated costs of restoring lands and water damaged by more than a century of mining activity - activity that resulted in significant profits for the Anaconda Minerals Co., which merged with Arco in 1979.

It also eventually resulted in a two-pronged push to make those areas whole again. One half of that effort is intended to clean up pollution and protect people from any residual health risks. The other side is concerned with restoring the area to its pre-mining condition, and it is this side of the effort that gave rise to the natural resource damage lawsuit after Arco protested it was being told to pay for restoration operations that exceed its responsibilities.

So far, the state has managed to squeeze only about $215 million from Arco for its restoration projects along the Clark Fork River. That money came from a partial settlement with the company in 1998, and has since been accruing interest in a special fund directed by the Trustee Restoration Council, which recently decided it is time to accelerate restoration efforts and authorized the use of nearly

$14 million to pay for eight major projects in the coming year.

If Gov. Brian Schweitzer gives those projects the green light, nearly

$2.8 million of the total authorized amount would be granted to the Clark Fork Coalition to help it pay for sediment removal from the stretch of Clark Fork River that flows past Milltown. Another $5 million would go to fund ongoing restoration efforts near Butte, and $1.4 million would be used for projects near Anaconda.

Imagine how much more funding Montana would have accrued in interest had we collected the entire sum from Arco all those years ago. Arco, of course, has an undeniable financial interest in holding onto its money for as long as it can, as well as a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders to fight for the smallest possible settlement.

But now, at last, the scene appears set for a consent decree that could end this decades-long legal battle once and for all. With that argument ended, Montana can finally collect the money it is owed and start putting it to good use on long-term efforts to restore our natural amenities to their pre-mining condition.

As recent trends have demonstrated, western Montana's economic health is tied in large part to its environmental health - but Arco, too, stands to benefit from the settlement. With the consent decree in place, it can finally put to rest any residual resentment left over from mining's tainted history and truly promote itself as a company that cares about the environment.

Here's hoping for a speedy resolution so we can truly put this chapter behind us and head full-throttle toward a better future.

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