While challenges remain, these investments represent a coordinated effort to address decades of underinvestment and build a more equitable water future.
The concerns over unknown contamination sources, potential exposure pathways beyond just drinking water, and historical exposures remain on many minds.
Because EPA did not follow the procedures when it finalized the rule governing the four hazard index chemicals, the petitioners expect EPA will “redo the regulatory process for those four hazard index chemicals, and our hope is that those will be separated from the case and will not be adjudicated.”
The EPA has been running these sampling surveys since 1983, building what’s now the longest-running and most comprehensive data set on Great Lakes health.
For now, most Butte residents can safely use their tap water again—but the situation remains under close watch as environmental authorities continue to test and assess water quality.