County seeks help with EPA controls
The City-County Board of Health is forming a citizens’ committee to help design the institutional controls to be implemented for the long-term management of asbestos left in place in the Libby area once the Environmental Protection Agency’s active operations at the Libby Superfund site draw to a close.
Institutional controls are a set of ordinances, regulations and other program controls designed to help manage exposure to Libby Amphibole Asbestos. The EPA’s Record of Decision, signed earlier this year, indicates a robust program of controls will be implemented, but does not provide any specifc details about those controls.
“EPA is beginning the process of developing institutional controls for the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site,” said Lincoln County Asbestos Resource Program manager Nick Raines. “The City-County Board of Health for Lincoln County, is seeking five to seven individuals interested in participating in this IC development process and to serve as advisors to the board. “This will include working with EPA, DEQ, Lincoln County ARP, and other agencies to develop details for the proposed institutional controls. All proposals will then be brought to the Board of Health as recommendations for the board to consider through normal public process (i.e., public reading/hearing and votes for any new ordinances, etc.). This is a fairly new approach to IC development, so an exact time commitment/expectation is a bit hard to define. The group will be meeting once per month over a 12-month period. My best guess is that an individual can expect to spend around four hours per month during that time-frame.”
Agency representatives, including project manager Rebecca Thomas, have repeatedly promised that area residents will have a voice in the institutional controls design process. Raines said public involvement is crucial to the long-term success of the program.
“It’s incredibly important for the community to help develop these details so the instititional controls will be effective here,” he said. “If the community isn’t involved and the agencies just push their own decisions down, the ICs just won’t work.”
The board originally posted the request for letters of interest more than a month ago, but Raines said to date only two letters had been received from citizens so the board decided to extend the interest period until April 26. Anyone interested in participating on the committee should contact Raines at the Asbestos Resource Program office at 418 Mineral Ave. in Libby or by phone at 283-2462.