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Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter not returning to Billings location after drug-incineration incident

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BILLINGS — The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter will not return to its city-owned facility on Monad Road, more than a month after a drug-incineration mishap sent over a dozen staff members to the hospital and forced the shelter to temporarily close.

Watch how the shelter is handling the future of their operations here:

Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter not returning to city location after drug incineration incident

Executive Director Triniti Halverson said the shelter’s board of directors has made the decision to permanently sever ties with the building, citing unresolved contamination concerns and the city’s failure to provide safety guarantees.

"We just don't feel comfortable going back or inviting the community back with us," said Halverson on Monday.

Related: Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter staff frustrated after exposure to FBI meth incineration

The incident occurred on Sept. 10, when a negative air pressure issue caused methamphetamine smoke from an incinerator, used in a routine drug burn by the FBI, to vent into the shelter, which shares the same structure. At least 14 shelter employees were treated for exposure symptoms.

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Inside the empty shelter on Monad Road.

“We do have a few employees that have lingering health effects. A lot of people are experiencing kind of maybe more traumatic stress, anxiety, those types of things that were in the incident," said Halverson. "We can't put them in a risky situation again. It's just not okay. It's not fair.”

Following the incident, the shelter gave the city 30 days to address concerns regarding the incinerator. Halverson said the city requested an extension on Oct. 8 but has still not addressed the cleaning recommendations given by Northern Industrial Hygiene to be in accordance with the industry standards. Halverson said the city had not made a timeline to meet those standards, but it has hired its own restoration company for the incinerator room.

"The city is really focusing on what was recommended in the incinerator room, whereas the hygiene industry sees that there needs to be stuff done all throughout, including, and probably most importantly to us, the HVAC system," said Halverson.

Related: Montana DEQ investigating burning of methamphetamine at Billings animal shelter

The shelter also requested assurance from the city that the incinerator would no longer be used for drug disposal. Halverson said the only response was that the city would provide “adequate notice” before future use once they were confident further incidents would not occur, but it's a promise the shelter deemed insufficient. Halverson argued that the city should only use the incinerator located on Airport Road, which is used by Montana Highway Patrol and designed to destroy illegal drugs in the county.

“The response has just been, ‘At this time we are not disposing of drugs,’ and that's not a secure enough promise for us to go back and for us to invite the community to follow us back into that building,” said Halverson. "They are confident that the issues will be resolved. We are confident that we don't want to work and take care of animals in a building where they're disposing of drugs."

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This caused an additional concern after Halverson said the city notified the shelter last week that the burn included other drug paraphernalia, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl—information that had not been previously disclosed to the shelter or Billings Clinic at the time of treatment.

City officials, including City Administrator Chris Kukulski and Mayor Bill Cole, did not respond to MTN’s request for comment. Shelter officials said the city was formally notified last Wednesday that the shelter would not return, but the city has not responded.

The shelter said it has footed the bill for the remediation process with Newman Restoration, and it has all come at a large cost for the shelter.

“As of right now, I've paid about $150,000 in decontamination bills alone,” said Halverson. “That's a huge hit to the animal shelter. I mean, it's like months of fundraising for us.”

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Now the shelter is trying to salvage what it can and is moving all of its belongings out of the old building within the next 30 days. For the employees, it was difficult to go back for what was left. Much was untouched since Sept 10.

“The moving out process from the Monad building has been really hard. If we're being honest, it's been a really emotional journey," said Halverson. "We've worked so hard to build one of the best animal shelters in this region."

Since Sept. 26, the shelter has been operating out of a temporary warehouse facility at Lionheart Cannabis at 6400 S. Frontage Road in Billings. The space currently houses 10 strays, and the shelter has over 50 animals in foster care. The shelter is still working with Billings Animal Control to house strays at the temporary warehouse.

"It's getting a little bit better each day," said Halverson. "We're trying really hard to work together because in the end we have to serve the animals."

Related: Billings woman raising concerns after animal control actions

While some shelter services have resumed, the current space is not equipped to handle full operations, particularly medical care.

"Our X-ray machine takes a very specific electric unit. We can't install it here or at the other building," said Halverson. "We're doing our very, very best, but this won't be a long-term solution. It just won't be possible.”

The shelter has also secured a larger warehouse site in Worden to serve as storage and possible future operational space.

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The new storage warehouse located in Worden.

The search for a new home has expedited the anticipated build for a new shelter. Originally scheduled to begin building the new facility in 2028, the shelter now hopes to break ground by spring 2026, pending fundraising and community support. Halverson said the incident has only underscored the urgent need for an independent and up-to-date facility.

“Everyone is really struggling emotionally right now. We love our jobs and we just want to go back to serving the animals," said Halverson.

Despite the setback, Halverson emphasized the shelter’s continued commitment to serving animals and the community.

“This is the way we're going. We have to move forward, so you just have to move through it," said Halverson.

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