New Deal Could Re-Open Columbia Falls Aluminum Plant

A new deal could bring power back to the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company and add two-hundred jobs to the Flathead's economy.

The plant shut down in 2009 after more than fifty years in business. Owners blamed the closure on the electricity costs.

Now CFAC officials say the Bonneville Power Administration has a new four and a half year power proposal the plant could afford. In the proposal, power sales would start April 1, 2012. The amount of sale would be one hundred-forty megawatts, which is enough to run two of the plant’s five smelters.

City officials estimate that at that operating capacity, up to two-hundred jobs could be added.

"Our county has one of the largest unemployment rates in the state of Montana,” says Carol Pike, Executive Director for the Columbia Falls Chamber of Commerce. “Being able to put two-hundred plus people back to work at very good paying jobs with benefits would just be a win for everyone."

BPA officials say that before they enter into agreement with CFAC, the agency must complete two analysis, including a cost-benefit analysis, and an environmental document for the National Environmental Policy Act.