County ARP reports dozens of abatements, EPA meeting set for July 15

ARP staff told Lincoln County commissioners on June 25 that the county response program continues active cleanup and sampling work and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public meeting July 15.

In a spoken update, ARP reported that between Jan. 1 and June 30 the program had responded to 62 hotline calls, processed 445 utility‑locate tickets and conducted 85 site visits. Staff listed completed actions such as attic‑space abatement at 2020 Culbrin Road, an exterior removal at MKM Village Park, removal of a contaminated stockpile at 186 Pioneer Road, and a full‑house demolition at 209 Montana Ave. Ongoing projects include oversight of work on port property development and additional sampling and abatement at multiple Libby and Troy properties.

ARP staff said the EPA public meeting set for July 15 will cover the five‑year review results, the county’s public‑health emergency status, partial deletions, OU3 status and fuels/forest management updates. “EPA will help us pay for air quality testing in the event of a wildfire,” staff said, and ARP will conduct ambient air sampling at four monitoring stations next summer and baseline soil sampling at 10 properties around OU3 and MKM Village.

Commissioners asked about program workload; ARP staff said activity is increasing and that the program may need additional staffing. “If it gets any more busy, I got to hire a fourth,” the speaker said.

Next steps: ARP will continue abatement and sampling work, perform the baseline air and soil sampling next summer, and participate in the EPA public meeting on July 15.

Sources and provenance: ARP presentation to the board at the June 25 meeting.