DEQ outlines cleanup options for Historic Hotel Libby as local group seeks EPA grant

Colleen Owen, a brownfields coordinator with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, told the Libby City Council the DEQ has completed Phase I and Phase II investigations for the Historic Hotel Libby and prepared an Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABA) that will support a site-specific EPA cleanup grant application by Friends of Hotel Libby.

Owen said DEQ plans exterior abatement work—removal of asbestos-containing siding and encapsulation of lead-based paint on the original siding—but that DEQ’s brownfields grant funding is not sufficient to address required interior abatement. Friends of Hotel Libby are pursuing an EPA site-specific cleanup grant to fund interior remediation necessary before renovation and construction can proceed; Owen said the grant application deadline for that EPA funding is Nov. 11.

Owen offered copies of the ABA to council and the public and asked for comments to help the grant application. She described how the ABA compares alternatives ranging from no action to full abatement and noted the DEQ has used Infrastructure Law funds for several Montana brownfields projects.

During the presentation the council was informed that Commissioner Berger (M. Berger in the transcript) was recusing herself from the discussion. At least one public commenter urged the council to scrutinize the ABA and questioned Owen’s prior involvement on other projects, saying a promised fact sheet was not delivered and urging council to ‘move slowly’ on the grant request. Owen’s presentation and public comment were recorded for the council’s consideration, and no grant award decision was made at this meeting; Friends of Hotel Libby will continue to finalize their EPA application.

The DEQ presentation provided a cost estimate for hazardous-material abatement of building materials and recommended next steps for public review and comment to support the Friends’ EPA grant application.