Federal regulators were met with frustration from a crowd that gathered in Billings Wednesday evening to hear plans to reduce health risks from an underground plume of toxic chemicals beneath the city.

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on a contaminated site that spans 1,100-acres across downtown and west central Billings. It includes about 4,200 homes, schools and businesses.

Industrial chemicals used primarily by laundry and dry-cleaning businesses through the 1980s went down floor drains, causing a toxic plume to form underground. The pollutants can evaporate from soil or groundwater and contaminate the air in the buildings above.

EPA officials held a meeting at the library on Wednesday evening to hear feedback from the public on its proposed $33 million plan to cle

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