It was a tale of redemption for one of Libby’s most toxic sites, tainted by vermiculite for decades. Now, it is supporting life.

About 30 officials and government employees were at Riverfront Park Friday afternoon for a tree-planting ceremony, a major Superfund site and former health hazard.

The history of the park dates back years, when the vermiculite processing buildings for W.R. Grace stood next to several baseball diamonds, where children would play and people would walk along the river. 

Little League photos from the 1970s show youngsters in uniform posing for the team photo with a large sign reading ‘field provided by W.R. Grace Co.’ Immediately behind that sign is the vermiculite plant itself.

Now, the park stands bare, with only the EPA trucks and the 10 linden trees planted Friday standing as a stark reminder of the change Libby has been through in recent years.

“It’s a very positive step forward for Libby,” said city councilwoman Vicky Lawrence, who headed the event. “We embrace the past and we embrace the future.”

The city wrote a grant to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), who provided $5,800 for the trees and the mulch that the workers and volunteers spread over the once-tainted ground.

At the planting, representatives from the EPA from Denver and Libby, CDM Smith, PRI, the Army Corps of Engineers, David Thompson Search & Rescue and the DNRC joined a fair section of Libby’s City Council, including Council President Bill Bischoff and Mayor Doug Roll.

Absent from the tree planting were representatives from the community Asbestos Memorial Group that had installed a pavilion in the park in 2005.

Many of those helping to plant the trees, at least from the City Council, grew up in Libby, where trucks from the mine would bring loads of vermiculite to the park to be loaded on trains and sent nationwide. 

Because of this direct involvement with contaminants, the park had proven to be one of the city’s most violently toxic areas, and one of the largest projects the EPA has taken. Councilwoman Lawrence spoke on how instrumental the EPA has been in the rebirth of Riverfront Park.

“We’ve been working with the EPA for close to three years to develop a plan suitable for them and for the city,” she said. “Usually, the EPA just removes soil and replaces it, but we’ve collaborated and instead of just taking out the soil, they’ve helped develop the park.”

Lawrence said she expects remediation to be completed by the end of the month, weather permitting, and that the city will take the reins. Then the city plans on adding grass, paving the road into the park and installing a bathroom for park-goers. 

According to the EPA, since work began on Riverfront Park in 2002, the cost will be more than $1 million. But for members of the community, that may ultimately be a small price to pay for the peace of mind of having a safe community park.

“We want to have a big community celebration and invite representatives from the state,” Lawrence said. “It could be this year, it could be next year. We’ll have to see how it goes.”