EPA finishes year with 149 cleanups
The Environmental Protection Agency oversaw the cleanup of 149 properties this year in Libby, project manager Mike Cirian reported Wednesday morning.
Giving his monthly update to Lincoln County commissioners, Cirian said that number fell one short of the agency’s goal.
“We would’ve made that but somebody bowed out at the last minute,” Cirian said.
Properties have a somewhat broad definition and include houses, commercial buildings and alleyways – or as Cirian put it, “anything that we’ve cleaned up that’s been given cleanup identification.”
To date, the EPA has overseen the cleanup of 1,103 properties.
Cirian said his office is now getting ready for next year. The EPA will revisit some areas that did not allow access for cleanup for various reasons back in 2002-03.
“One of our goals this winter is to set up a plan to get contaminant screening done on those homes and give us another shot at cleaning up,” Cirian said. “We had 350 refusals the first time.”
Cirian said that some of those properties could fall under the “worst first” designation. Some property owners may have had a change of heart, some were sold and now have new owners, and others involved out-of-state owners that were difficult to reach.
The EPA removed 48,500 cubic yards of soil over the year – an increase of 4,000 to 5,000 cubic yards over 2007. The contaminated soil is hauled up to the mine site. In all, Cirian said almost 600,000 cubic yards of soil have been hauled.
In other news, Cirian said projects at Flower Creek, Granite Creek and Callahan Creek have been completed. Recent inspections revealed small areas of contamination in Libby Creek and Pipe Creek.
“We’ve got a new team that’s come together, so we’re working on how that fits into next year,” Cirian said. “Or, is it something that needs to wait. We’ll go through all that.”
The agency is currently testing ambient air at five school sites – Asa Wood, Plummer, the middle school, the high school and the administration building. Ten ports are set up at each site. Results will help determine future action.
Victor Ketellapper, who took over as Libby team leader about two weeks ago, met with commissioners for the first time. Unit A leader Russ Leclerc and communications staffer Ted Linnert also sat in. And through conference calls, representatives from the offices of Max Baucus and Jon Tester, and the state of Montana listened in.
Ketellapper is meeting this week with various groups as well as visiting the various operable unit sites. He expects to present the 2009 season plan in February.
“We’ll start developing long-term plans on all the OUs and bringing them to a decision,” Ketellapper said. “We’re shifting from short-term emergency response to long-term goals for the site.”