Libby City Council passes on supporting selenium standards

Since environmental regulators approved new heavy metal standards for Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River last year, conservationists have petitioned local officials to endorse the measures.

While backed by years of scientific research, the levels have proven to be a hard sell.

Libby City Councilors vote 4-2 against a resolution of support for the selenium standards during a Jan. 19 meeting. The following day, Troy City Councilors voiced support for sending a letter calling for continued research into the issue.

After six years of research, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s Board of Environmental Review voted in favor of tightening accepted concentrations of selenium in the lake and reservoir. The heavy metal, which leaches into the bodies of water from upstream Canadian mines operated by Teck Resources, is putting the local fish ecosystem at risk, according to DEQ officials.

Low concentrations of selenium are necessary for animals and certain plant species. If levels get too high, however, the heavy metal can compromise the reproduction of certain fish species as it moves through the food chain and becomes increasingly concentrated.

While more restrictive than standards applicable to most Montana waters, the new selenium levels approved by the BER correspond to federally advised standards and methods of approving site-specific standards.

Dave Hadden, director of Headwaters Montana, asked Libby councilors during the Jan. 19 meeting to show their support for the new standards noting that Montana-based scientists had been instrumental in collecting and analyzing data used to back the measure. DEQ, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the University of Montana were among the entities that contributed to the study.

Montana-based scientists with the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey were also involved along with researchers from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the EPA and the British Columbia Ministry for Environment.

While DEQ has already approved the standards, Hadden said he hoped to see local officials endorse the measure as a show of support.

“My interest in having the council adopt this resolution is simply that I worked on it, and a lot of other Montanas worked on it,” he said. “It’s for local elected bodies, like the city council of Libby to support that.”

Greg Hoffman, a biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers at the Libby Dam, also asked councilors for their endorsement. As one of the researchers who gathered data on selenium concentrations, he spoke to the accuracy of the science used to back DEQ’s new standards.

Councilors questioned Hadden and Hoffman on a clause of the resolution of support that noted that Montana could be held liable for passing selenium-ladened water into Idaho.

Last year, the EPA granted Idaho an impaired listing for the section of the Kootenai River that runs through the state. The only way for Montana to avoid liability claims from downstream states — and collect clean-up compensations from British Columbia — would be to adopt a scientifically defensible standard, according to resolution.

Councilors wondered how Montana could be held responsible for the selenium in the water if it came from Canadian mines. Hadden said he could not comment on how liability claims against the state would function since he was not an attorney. Montana’s approval of the standards, however, would help the federal government in their negotiations with Canada over the issue.

“The only way Montana can ensure the water coming out of British Columbia is treated better is for the U.S. government to argue with the government of Canada on their behalf,” he said. “The only way we can be assured that the Department of State is going to represent this issue for us is if we have a standard that is scientifically defensible.”

Teck Resources has already poured around $742 million into selenium treatment — and expects to spend up to another $400 million in the next four years. Nevertheless, Teck researchers have opposed DEQ’s new standards calling for less restrictive levels.

Local elected officials had previously raised concerns that the new selenium levels could lead to Lake Koocanusa being listed as an impaired body of water. County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) worried in December that an impaired listing of the lake could lead to a decline of local industries, especially the outfitting industry.

Local guides, however, have voiced support for DEQ’s standards. Were levels to continue to rise, Mike Rooney, retired guide, worried the heavy metal could lead to fish kills which would cripple outfitters.

Elected officials have also opposed DEQ’s standards fearing the environmental restrictions could hamper local development. State Sen. Mike Cuffe (R-Eureka) spoke out against the measure in December saying it could act as another roadblock for timber, mining and real estate projects.

Darcy O’Connor, water division director for EPA Region 8, said the new standards could only be used to moderate commercial activities that could add selenium to the lake and river. At the Libby City Council meeting, Hadden said scientists determined that local projects are unlikely to add any selenium to the bodies of water due to the geological makeup of the county.

While he supported funding more research and applauded the efforts of scientists to date, Libby City Councilor Gary Beach said he was still concerned about how the selenium levels could impact the local economy. DEQ officials, he said, had not been able to provide him with information on the topic including an economic impact statement.

“Personally, I feel supporting the lower standard for selenium at this point without some of this information may cause adverse effects long term for the current and future local economy,” he said.

DC Orr, Libby resident and former city councilor, spoke against the resolution during the public comment period saying he didn’t think the city should involve itself since the state had already approved the standard.

Councilor Kristin Smith made the motion to approve the resolution. Rob Dufficy offered a second. Beach, Peggy Williams, Brian Zimmerman and Hugh Taylor voted against the resolution. Dufficy and Smith cast their votes in support.

Towards the end of the meeting, Smith expressed her disappointment that the council failed to adopt the resolution.

“[DEQ has] already adopted the standard, it just sends support. There are going to be folks in the legislature who are going to try and undo that work,” she said “We’re going to end up paying that price.”

DEQ researchers will take new measurements every year, according to Hadden, to help refine the selenium standard. The state agency could revise the number within three years based on the data.

While DEQ has enacted the standards for the river and reservoir, EPA officials still have to approve it under the Clean Water Act.