The DEQ’s report says that its proposed radiation parameters represent a safe exposure level for people nearby. But Montana landowners have felt impacts from the busy site for years, and they're worried about potential future spills.

The Kubesh family has farmed in the area for 100 years, according to family patriarch Grant Kubesh. The dirt roads to the Oaks landfill run alongside their property.

He said that the landfill brought truck traffic — so much so that the county keeps road grading equipment out there full-time. And the trucks have spilled along the roadside.

Kubesh said the area smells like a drill site, and the wind brings over dust from atop the radioactive waste. To control the dust, the county increased the use of magnesium chloride on the road, which corroded the family’s equipment.

“It was a tremendous effect on all of us here through living here,” said Kubesh, 57. The Kubeshes are also Northern Plains members.

The family sued the DEQ in 2014, saying the agency failed to adequately address spills, dust control and other impacts brought by the landfill. The settlement in 2016 included a new administrative rule that required trucks to secure and cover their loads.