Tough questions greet EPA's Martin
The Environmental Protection Agency’s
new regional chief answered tough questions from local officials
and the public last week during his second Libby visit since taking
the job in April.
“I’m raising my grandson here. Is it
safe to raise a child here?” Patti Lennard asked Region 8
Administrator Jim Martin on Friday during a public session. “Is it
safe for us to play at Asa Wood?”
Martin’s response reflected that of EPA
officials before him – asbestos exposure has been greatly reduced.
He is hopeful, though, that forthcoming toxicity information will
help the agency understand the level at which Libby amphibole
asbestos is unsafe and bring the EPA closer to a more definitive
answer.
“I wish I could give you a yes or no
answer, but I can’t,” he said. “I can tell that we have
dramatically reduced concentrations of this asbestos fiber in the
ambient air … We have dramatically reduced the amount of
vermiculite in about 1,500 homes. We’ve removed a million cubic
yards out of this community and Troy to one of two of those
disposal sites.”
Ambient air sampling in the Libby area
and activity-based sampling in Libby schools suggests the presence
of extremely low levels of asbestos, he said.
“I don’t know if I can tell you what
safe is,” he replied, “but we will have a better sense of it when
we get those studies in the spring.”
Once toxicity information is available
and the EPA establishes a risk assessment for Libby amphibole
asbestos, some properties will be cleaned over again to adhere to
the new standard, Martin said in response to a resident’s
question.
“What we’re going to learn from the
reports we’re going to have in the spring are going to give us a
much better sense of what more needs to be done,” he said.
Martin agrees with the rumor that EPA
is trying to finish up with the Superfund site as soon as possible,
though he said it won’t be a fly-by-night job. The EPA will also be
sensitive to the fact that Libby and Troy’s economy is linked to
the cleanup, he said.
“We’re a major employer. We’re a
significant part of the economy now,” he said. “You’re not going to
wake up one morning and discover we’re gone. We’d love to be gone,
but we’re going to make sure the job is done before we leave.”
In addition to speaking with members of
the public, Martin held meetings with representatives of the
congressional delegation, Libby City Council, Lincoln County Board
of Commissioners, Center for Asbestos Related Disease and the
Healthy Communities Initiative Group.
After those talks, he acknowledged that
the EPA must communicate with the public in more ways. The agency
is also committed, he said, to working with the Libby City Council
to help clean up the former export plant property so that
Riverfront Park can be expanded. The EPA issued its first Records
of Decision this past May for the city-owned land, as well as
privately-owned property at the former screening plant site.
In the EPA environment, Records of
Decision are routinely issued, he explained, but he understands
that residents have reservations about them.
“In our lives it’s a Record of Decision
and no big deal,” he said. “It’s obviously a bigger deal for folks
here so before we issue anymore Records of Decision, we’re going to
come back and talk to people and make sure everyone understands
what we’re thinking and why we’re thinking it and get people to
tell us what they think.”
The EPA must at least issue a ROD, or a
final decision that is very similar to a ROD, for the industrial
district in order to attract businesses and capital investment for
economic development, he said.
Martin met with local leaders three
months ago during his first Libby visit since President Obama
appointed him this spring as leader of EPA’s Denver-based Region 8.
The region covers Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Utah, Wyoming and 27 tribal nations.
Martin said he is committed to visiting
Libby at least four times a year. He expects to be back in the
spring.