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BUTTE – Federal District Judge Sam Haddon Wednesday denied The Montana Standard’s move to open up confidential talks on the largest Superfund site in the U.S.

Haddon ruled that The Standard did not “offer a single justifiable reason” for the fact that it waited 13 years to intervene. The Standard initiated the lawsuit in September to “bring sunshine” to discussions launched in 2003. Those discussions will determine the future of cleanup on the Butte Hill.

The responsible party, Atlantic Richfield Company, and the Environmental Protection Agency signed a 2003 court order, allowing the Butte Hill negotiations to be private. All other entities, including the state and county, involved in the talks agree to that confidentiality.

If The Standard had prevailed, the suit could have impacted Anaconda’s Superfund discussions as well as others still pending.

The Standard’s lawyer, Jim Goetz, argued before Haddon on Nov. 30 that the privately held meetings violate Montana open meetings and public records laws. Goetz also said The Standard did not try to intervene in 2003 because, initially, it and Butte trusted the federal government.

But that trust has eroded, Goetz said in his argument to the Court Nov. 30.