Disposal of contaminated soil questioned

TROY, Mont. - Several people voiced opposition this week to the possibility of burying 35,000-37,000 cubic yards of vermiculate-contaminated soil at the city-owned landfill site 1-1/2 miles southeast of Troy.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality, which is the lead Superfund site agency in the Troy area cleanup, is discussing with the city the possibility of filling in the gravel pit adjacent to the landfill with soil that will be removed this year from local yards and gardens.

Trucking the soil to the former vermiculite mine site at Libby is estimated to cost roughly $1 million more, according to DEQ's Catherine LeCours, remedial project manager for Troy.

Property owner Lana Manahan said at the meeting that land beside an asbestos disposal site carries a far worse stigma than land bordering a regular landfill.

"Everyone in this room knows the hysterical association that there is with asbestos," Manahan said. "I don't want it in my backyard and I feel like it's going to have a dramatic impact on my livelihood."

Manahan and her husband mine a 4.4-acre parcel on the southwest boundary of the city's property and are trying to sell another 7.8-acre parcel located on the northern boundary.

Clients would question the quality of sand and boulders they mined near an asbestos disposal site, Manahan said, and no one would want to buy a parcel with mountain views and possible asbestos contamination.

Councilmember Loretta Jones and other attendees had questions about the city's future liability. LeCours explained.

"The city's responsibility would be to maintain the cap," she said, "so erosion - make sure that the grass is growing on it, which up here usually isn't a problem with the rainfall."

LeCours said that the soil would contain much lower levels of asbestos-laced vermiculite than soil found in Libby yards. As long as the cap isn't disturbed, there shouldn't be any contamination issues, she said.

"We do not need to worry about groundwater contamination of the material because it doesn't migrate. It is inert," she said.

Vermiculite removed from homes would continue to be transported to the asbestos cell at the Libby landfill.

Removal activities in the Troy area are slated to begin in July. If the city grants DEQ permission, the disposal site could potentially be closed and capped off by this fall.

"We may only need this operating for one year just for a few months," LeCours said. "Fill it up, cover it and be done."