EPA collects information for report
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Ted Linnert is asking questions. And this past Wednesday morning during the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting, Linnert received similar responses from Marianne Roose, Tony Berget and John Konzen on a range of EPA-related issues.
It’s all part of what is labeled the Community Involvement Plan. A Superfund requirement, the effort involves Linnert interviewing people in various positions with a wide range of backgrounds. Although he talked to three public officials on Wednesday, Linnert said the plan revolves around feedback from everyday residents.
“I try to talk to regular citizens when I can,” Linnert said. “At first, I thought it was going to really be an onerous chore but I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying talking to people I haven’t talked to before. People that never speak up are the people I want to hear from.”
The purpose of the task is for Linnert to discover the best way to communicate the EPA’s message to the community.
Many of the questions involve very basic knowledge of the Superfund cleanup going on in Libby. For example, Linnert’s first question was simply, “Do you understand why the EPA is doing the cleanup in Libby and Troy?” And for the record, all three commissioners did know.
Beyond that query, the conversation eventually turned to the effectiveness of the Community Advisory Group and Technical Advisory Group meetings.
“What can we do to make these meetings more attractive to the public?” Linnert asked.
Attendance at the meetings has declined since the groups were first organized. Linnert made it clear that he is not trying to dictate in any way how those groups might proceed in the future but he did have a few suggestions.
For example, Linnert asked commissioners what they thought about the idea of combining TAG and CAG into one meeting. Each group would still have separate boards and they would need to have meetings to take care of routine business. But perhaps public involvement would increase if the presentations or topics of the day immediately took center stage.
“Libby is a relatively small town and it seems that the TAG and CAG boards have a great deal of overlap,” Linnert said. “There are some of the same people on the boards of both groups.”
One idea was to consider changing the facilitator at the CAG meetings.
“The message we hear from constituents is they don’t feel it truly is the voice of the community, so why should they go and listen to the comments when a select few dominate the conversation,” Roose said. “When they first started, those were great meetings. Somehow we’ve lost that.”
Combining the two groups would involve several factors. CAG allows any resident with contact information to join while TAG involves an approval process. TAG’s existence also relies on grant money.
“With some people, it’s just not a worry of theirs anymore,” Linnert said about declining attendance at those meetings. “Some feel that groups like the commissioners and the EPA, and the vocal minority, are handling it and that it’s going to work out.”
Linnert suggested that fewer residents attend because their homes were cleaned and the level of concern has decreased.
Linnert said it has been years since a Superfund Community Involvement Plan had been completed. A convenience store clerk, realtor, banker, motel owner, doctor and mechanic are examples of those on his list to contact.
“I’ve been pretty well engaged at the site now for four or five years and haven’t felt the need for it,” he said. “But now I guess I’m thinking about legacy type issues and making sure there’s a solid Community Involvement Plan when I leave the site – whenever that may be.”