Homeowners in Mont. get setback

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court delivered a setback Monday to Montana homeowners who are seeking additional cleanup of arsenic left over from years of copper smelting.

The court said the homeowners cannot proceed with efforts to decontaminate their own property near the shuttered Anaconda smelter without the permission of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But it did not order an end to the state court lawsuit that was under review.

The smelter, near the town of Opportunity, Montana, belongs to BP-owned Atlantic Richfield Co. and sits at the center of a 300-square-mile Superfund site.

The company says it has spent $470 million to clean the site.