EPA awards DEQ $1.7 million for ongoing Libby Superfund site work

The Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded about $1.7 million to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to support the department’s work at the Libby asbestos Superfund site.

The $1,672,106 award is an amendment to an existing cooperative agreement grant and covers the next two years, according to Lisa Dewitt, the department’s project manager for the Libby site.

“These monies are used by DEQ to participate in the (Superfund) process with EPA in all aspects of the Libby Asbestos cleanup,” she said via email.

Rep. Greg Gianforte and Sen. Steve Daines announced the award in an Aug. 2 news release, noting that it brings the total award to $9,706,508.

“The community of Libby deserves a clean environment and this grant will help achieve that,” Daines states in the news release.. “I applaud EPA for prioritizing the health of the people of Libby.”

Dewitt said the grant “is separate and apart” from the cooperative agreement between Lincoln County and the Environmental Protection Agency that supports the county’s Asbestos Resource Program.