Lincoln County, HDR launch biomass feasibility study; commissioners weigh sites, air-quality and feedstock

Lincoln County commissioners met Jan. 21 and recessed to a 2:00 p.m. HDR Engineering kickoff meeting where HDR outlined a feasibility study for a potential biomass or combined municipal solid waste (MSW) and biomass facility serving Libby and Eureka.

Zack Mason, HDR project lead, told the commissioners that HDR is collecting site maps, conducting interviews and lining up plant tours to inform a site-evaluation and mass-flow analysis scheduled to be completed by the end of March, with a final deliverable targeted for the end of September. "The data's going to drive the technology," Mason said, adding that the team was "starting to hit the ground running" on interviews and visits.

Why it matters: County leaders said the project could reduce hauling of woody waste to Libby, improve fire-safety outcomes by removing fuel from the forest, and potentially generate electricity or other value from local biomass. Commissioners said they want early engagement with the county health department and state regulators because Libby-specific restrictions — and the presence of Libby amphibole asbestos referenced in county procurement notices — affect permitting and the acceptability of different feedstocks.

HDR outlined three broad options: prioritize a biomass-only facility, build a combined MSW/biomass plant, or develop separate plants that each prioritize local feedstock. "If you introduce any type of MSW, then that can be a different kind of avenue," Mason said, noting metals and plastics in MSW change emissions and permitting. He emphasized that best-available control technologies — such as modern scrubbers — reduce particulate emissions but that MSW raises distinct regulatory considerations.

Site candidates discussed included county-owned parcels at the Libby port (noted for an existing substation and available acreage), the Libby landfill and an old sawmill property near Eureka (referred to in the meeting as the Stoken/Stokes mill site). HDR said the port parcel has existing water rights and utility access that merit further study; a county official noted the port has been described as holding "11 million gallons a day" in water-right allocations associated with Libby Creek, a detail HDR said it would verify.

On throughput and footprint, HDR said smaller facilities might occupy 5–10 acres but that storage and stockpiling for feedstock turnover drive land needs. "We're trying to target something that does at least 100 tons a day," Mason said, presenting 100 t/d as a preliminary planning baseline; HDR cautioned this figure is tentative and will be refined as fuel-supply data come in. Commissioners said they would supply HDR with aerial maps and asked HDR to verify current hauling quantities from Eureka: county staff reported approximately three 40-yard roll-off loads per day, five days per week, from local sources.

Commissioners and HDR discussed feedstock logistics, including how stewardship agreements, timber-sale contracts and forest-management objectives could affect the availability of slash and nonmarketable timber for a facility. HDR and participants suggested contacting Tuolumne County (Sonora, California) and operators at the Sierra Pacific foothills project as models for feedstock logistics and county stewardship arrangements.

Next steps: HDR will collect aerial site maps, verify hauling and feedstock quantities with county staff (including contact information for Kathy Hooper at the county health department), schedule site tours (HDR proposed visiting Stoltz and two MSW/biomass operations), and circulate a calendar invite for a monthly follow-up meeting. The team reiterated the schedule milestones: site evaluation and mass-flow analysis in Q4–Q1 with an aim to complete the initial reports by the end of September so the county can consider an RFQ/RFP process.

Procedure and votes: At the start of the morning session the commissioners approved the Jan. 14, 2026 meeting minutes by voice vote. That motion was recorded as passed; the board noted a few spelling queries to be corrected in the minutes.

What remains unresolved: HDR will confirm water-rights figures, precise acreage available at candidate sites, exact feedstock quantities and a firm throughput target based on measured supplies and seasonal variability. The county and HDR also plan to engage the health department and state air regulators early to clarify any Libby-specific permitting constraints before the county chooses a preferred technology or site.

The county adjourned the day after scheduling HDR-led site visits and promising follow-up information and contacts from county staff and HDR.