EPA Wants to Delete a Portion of Libby Superfund Site from National Priorities List

Libby, Mont. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are accepting public to comment on the EPA's proposal to delete Operable Unit 6 (OU6) of the Libby Asbestos Superfund site from the National Priorities List (NPL).

Operable Unit 6 includes BNSF-owned and operated railyards in the towns of Libby and Troy, MT and approximately 42 miles of railroad right-of-way between them. EPA says that OU6 has been cleaned through remedial actions at other Operable Units of the site, including the former export plant (OU1), former screening plant (OU2) and residential and commercial areas in Libby (OU4) and Troy (OU7).

OU6 does not require any additional remedial action to protect human health and the environment and is therefore eligible to be partially deleted from the site. A partial deletion is part of the superfund process which can remove a section, or operable unit, of the site from the NPL because no additional remediation is expected. The area will continue to be subject to operation and maintenance activities, including regular reviews for protectiveness. EPA, in consultation with DEQ, will continue to address contamination concerns at remaining Operable Units of the Libby Asbestos site, which includes the former mine site. The proposal to delete OU6 is available HERE.

You may submit comments until April 21, 2022 using any of the following methods:

• Online (follow instructions for submitting comments): http://www.regulations.gov
• By email: superfund.docket@epa.gov
• By mail: Dania Zinner, U.S. EPA, Region 8 (SEM-RB),1595 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80202-1129

For more information about the Libby Superfund site, visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/libby-asbestos