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BUTTE- The public comment period is open for a $28 million plan to restore the health of the Mining City's water.

Thanks to a 2008 settlement of a mining damage lawsuit against ARCO, the state has $32.2 million to repair injuries the water resources of Butte Area One, between Texas Avenue and the Interstate 90 bridge.

The Butte Natural Resource Damage Restoration Council meeting council will hear a consultant's suggestions and public feedback later this week.

The Butte-Silver Bow government has asked to spend at least $10 million on a filtration plant for the Basin Creek Reservoir. Originally, the Butte Water Company estimated this project would cost $17.7 million.

The restoration council's chief executive, Paul Babb, has recommended $10 million of this amount come from the Butte Area One Fund.

"If you open your tap and drink water out of the Butte water system this decision is going to affect you," said Pat Cuneen, an environmental science specialist. "What Butte Water wanted to do was put together a plan that if they received no other funding from outside sources this $28 million would go toward making Butte water sound."

The "Groundwater Restoration Plan for the Butte-Silver Bow Domestic Water System" can be found on the Natural Resources Protection Department website. The BNRC meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday on the second floor conference room of the Thornton Building at 65 East Broadway in Uptown Butte.