Commissioners pleased with EPA visit

Last week Environmental Protection Agency officials visited Libby to solicit public input regarding the agency’s proposed remediation plan and long-term institutional controls for the Libby Superfund site.

Lincoln County’s commissioners met with the project team in a series of meetings during their week-long visit. Commissioner Greg Larson attended the May 20 public meeting in Troy and Commissioner Mark Peck attended the May 21 public meeting in Libby. Neither meeting garnered significant public attendance.

The commissioners expressed general satisfaction with the proposed plan, despite the lack of public participation in the meetings. 

“This is a complex, difficult issue and I think they’re moving forward on it,” Commissioner Peck said.

Commissioner Mike Cole said he is satisfied with the agency’s progress on the issue, but also said he is concerned about the lack of details available regarding funding for the operation and maintenance of the site once the agency completes active clean-up operations in the area.

“I like the way things are looking at this point,” Cole said. “But we still have to deal with the elephant in the room, and that’s funding.”

During the meetings, EPA project manager Rebecca Thomas told attendees there is sufficient funding for the active clean-up and the long-term controls. She said new data indicates the agency has funding remaining from the W.R. Grace and Company settlement to last into, if not all the way through, 2018. Previous estimates indicated the fund would run dry before the end of 2015 operations.

Thomas also said a fund was set aside for the operation and maintenance needs of the site after active clean-up. The fund, initially $11 million, has earned interest since its creation and now has a balance of roughly $11.8 million.  

Additional funding for long-term costs from the state will also begin in 2018, due to a bill sponsored in the legislature this year by Sen. Chas Vincent. The bill, SB 20, reallocates the $600,000 currently appropriated for the Zortman-Landusky clean-up fund after the fund reaches its statutory limit. 

Residents expressed some concern during both the public meetings and at a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group and the Citizens Advisory Group about the lack of detail provided in the plan, especially as it relates to the institutional controls to be left in place 

to manage exposure to contamination left behind once the agency departs. The commissioners acknowledged the concern, but said the vague nature of the proposed plan works in the county’s best interest.

Peck reiterated statements made earlier by Thomas, stressing the difficulty in amending a final record of decision once entered. Vague controls, they argued, provide a greater flexibility to adjust the program to fit changing needs within the impacted communities. Peck said the agency has also promised the county and its residents a voice in the final design of the regulations to be implemented.

“They’ve promised us a voice in the design of the controls,” Peck said. “And we’re going to be involved every step of the way.”

The design process will begin later this year, after the final record of decision is entered. The record of decision follows the public comment period, currently scheduled to end July 8, but which will likely be extended by 30 days at the request of the commissioners. The extension, Larson said, will allow the Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program to finish a series of interviews being conducted with residents about the proposed plan and institutional controls.

Peck said he understands the concern of area residents, especially relating to the uncertainty about the controls and the abatement of the public health emergency declared in Libby in 2009. Exactly what will happen when and if that declaration is lifted is unclear, and is a matter of concern to the commissioners. The declaration of the public health emergency, the first in Superfund history, triggered a number of health benefits for people impacted by asbestos exposure.

“This has never been done before,” Peck said. “This is where we need to involve Sens. Daines and Tester and Rep. Zinke. We need to make sure the impacted people are taken care of.”

Larson said it is imperative to lift the public health emergency in order to help alleviate the stigma attached to the area.

“We need to remarket south Lincoln County,” he said. “We can’t wait another 10 years.”

The commissioners said they are confident they will be able to work with the agency to address the concerns expressed by area residents and help bring the Superfund project in Libby to a successful conclusion, even though a significant number of questions remain as to how exactly such a conclusion will be reached.

“We’re going to stay involved,” Larson said. “We’re going to hold them accountable until we’re satisfied.”