MT DEQ, Greenway Project, B. A. & P. Railway to give Superfund train tour for Anaconda High School video project

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality http://www.deq.state.mt.us/ (DEQ) has been invited by the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway (B.A. & P.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butte,_Anaconda_and_Pacific_Railway to present Superfund cleanup information during an educational train tour for high school students who will produce videos of the experience.

Seventeen juniors and seniors from Anaconda High School’s http://www.sd10.org/ video production class will board the train with representatives from the DEQ, Greenway Project (walking path) and B.A. & P. Railway at the Anaconda Roundhouse at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. The three-hour tour will take them 36 miles to Ramsay and back where students will learn first hand about the environmental cleanup and restoration taking place in the Superfund areas of Anaconda and Silver Bow Creek.

"The DEQ wholeheartedly supports educational projects like this one," says Joel Chavez, DEQ Project Manager. "It will help the high school students understand and capture on video that there’s hope for areas damaged by mine waste and that cleanup can be done."

"B.A. & P. Railway http://www.patriotrail.com/ is excited about the partnerships between the†Anaconda High School, the DEQ and the Greenway Project," says Tom McCarthy, B.A. & P. Railway Special Project Manager. "We feel that this project will benefit†and provide knowledge†to everyone participating.†We are very proud of the students and their teacher Liz Tuss for their excitement and willingness to take part in this project with us."

The students will be shooting digital photographs and video, as well as scanning and restoring old photographs. "As an educator, what an awesome opportunity it is to present my students with an educational experience that uses the technology of today to reflect the history, restoration, and value of their community," says Liz Tuss, Anaconda High School Teacher.

This is the first year the railway is offering the tour to high school students. The partnership is "win-win" for everyone. The B.A. & P. Railway will use the student videos on future train excursions

The Silver Bow Creek/Butte/Anaconda area was listed as a Federal Superfund site in 1983.

Mary Ann Dunwell

Public Relations Specialist

Remediation Division

Montana Department of Environmental Quality

1100 North Last Chance Gulch

Helena, MT 59601

(406) 841-5016

[email protected]

http://www.deq.mt.gov/rem