EPA boss listens to local concerns
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
September 16, 2010
Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Jim Martin heard concerns ranging from the need to refine scientific methods for assessing risks from asbestos exposure to the question of how to rebuild the local economy during a visit to Libby last week.
Martin, who previously worked as an attorney specializing in environmental issues and most recently served as executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, was appointed to head EPA’s Region 8 in April. He met last Thursday with local officials at the Venture Inn to gather input on the agency’s ongoing cleanup of asbestos contamination left over from years of vermiculite mining and processing.
The lack of toxicity data for Libby asbestos has put a crimp on the city of Libby’s plans to redevelop the former W.R. Grace processing site that’s now Riverfront Park, Mayor Doug Roll told Martin.
"Until that’s done, I don’t see how you can say it’s clean," Roll said.
County health officer and Center for Asbestos Related Disease director Brad Black pointed to a need for further studies on the effects of asbestos-containing materials left behind in soil.
"I see people ill from lawn mowing work, and that’s pretty much their exposure," Black said.
A "perfect target" isn’t necessary, Black said, but a consensus has to be reached.
"We’re going to need something that says this is our best shot right now," he said. "This is our best knowledge."
The EPA has "every intention" of finishing the job in Libby and leaving town, Martin said.
"I know you’ll miss us, but we don’t want to stay here forever," he said.
Because of the unique situation presented by Libby asbestos, the agency has had to develop new methods for analyzing and cleaning up contamination, Martin said. That work is moving ahead, he promised.
"I wish we had known 10 years ago what we know today," he said. "But we’re going to know a lot more soon. We’re not going to leave you in the lurch."
Lincoln County Commissioner John Konzen said he was "a brand new commissioner" when the EPA arrived in Libby in 1999 to begin working on the asbestos issue. At the time, Konzen said, the commissioners set a three-part agenda: to make sure people were safe, to secure health care, and to rebuild the economic damage.
"That third leg is still missing," Konzen said.
National publicity about Libby’s asbestos issues has made it difficult to attract new businesses to the area, said Libby Area Chamber of Commerce director Dusti Thompson.
"Nobody wants to come here because they don’t know if it’s safe or not," she said.
Lincoln County Commissioner Tony Berget stressed the importance of finishing cleanup at the former lumber mill site that’s now the Kootenai Business Park. Paul Rumelhart, director of the Kootenai River Development Council, told Martin a "major disconnect" between the EPA and the Economic Development Administration has made it difficult to finance redevelopment projects at the site.
Martin said he would work toward bridging the gap between the two agencies.
"Federal agencies have vastly different missions, and I don’t have a clue how EDA works and they probably don’t know how Superfund works," he said.
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Editor’s Note: See the September 14, 2010 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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