Libby City Council grants noise variance for EPA cleanup crews

Libby City Council granted a noise variance Wednesday night to a company doing cleanup work for the EPA in Libby so its workers can spend less time working in the summer heat.

Mayor Brent Teske said the city has “done this the past couple years” for the company, Pri-er JV, whose crews often work in protective suits and respirators outside in the sun and inside stuffy attics, according to the company letter requesting the variance.

The letter states the request follows a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers safety and health requirement to schedule work during cooler times of the day “when possible.”

City ordinance 9.60.030 allows for “noise caused by home or building repair or grounds maintenance between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.” The company’s request for a variance states that its crews “report at 7 a.m. and start up equipment at approximately 7:30 a.m.”

The approved noise variance will allow crews to report at 6 a.m. and start up equipment at 6:30 a.m. “until high temperatures are more acceptable yet not past Sept. 18,” as per the company’s request.

All City Council members, but for an absent Brian Zimmerman, voted in favor of approving the variance.

“I don’t know of any complaints in the past about this,” said Peggy Williams.

No public comment was made on the request.