The State of Montana Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) is returning to Libby next month to seek restoration project proposals for natural resource damage funding from the Libby Asbestos Operable Unit 3 (OU3) settlement. 

The program is looking for projects that restore, replace, rehabilitate or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured by the operations at the vermiculite mine. 

NRDP will be hosting a restoration project workshop at the City Hall's Ponderosa Room in Libby Wednesday, Aug. 12. It begins at 4 p.m. and ends at 6:30 p.m.

The workshop is designed to discuss restoration project ideas from the community and give feedback on developing proposals prior to the fall solicitation period.

This update and workshop pertain to the 2023 natural resource damage portion of the $18.5 million settlement between the state and W.R. Grace in Grace’s bankruptcy. The state anticipates having approximately $3 million available for restoration projects starting in 2027. 

The settlement between Grace and the state was negotiated by both the Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). There were many components in the settlement agreement.

These funds must be spent to restore, replace, rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured by the hazardous substance releases related to the mine site.

NRDP anticipates evaluating the need for additional early restoration projects in the fall of 2026, and this workshop will aid us in understanding interest and ideas for potential future early restoration projects. 

For those who have ideas for restoration projects in Libby related to aquatic/riparian resources, terrestrial resources, or recreational use of natural resources in Lincoln County, they are encouraged to join us for this workshop. 

Participants are asked to bring specific restoration project ideas to discuss and feel free to reach out to NRDP ahead of time for preliminary discussions on project eligibility (see contact information below). 

Background information will be presented at the beginning of the workshop and time will be reserved for open discussion. Those who are interested are welcome to join for all of the workshop or drop in when able. 

For those who cannot make the workshop, they are asked to contact NRDP's Sydney Stewart at [email protected] or at 406-465-6638, to discuss their project ideas. There will also be a virtual option for the meeting.

Use the links below for instructions from Microsoft on joining a Teams meeting, raising your hand,  and other controls:

To join the Microsoft Teams meeting, go to https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/292740740702802?p=siuFfJgljcl0nkfYYy.

The meeting ID is 292 740 740 702 802 and the passcode is AZ7oq3h8.

Members of the public participating via Teams may raise their hand and wait to be addressed by the moderator or politely interject and wait for acknowledgment by the moderator, to provide comment or ask a question, please do not talk over others. 

Comments/questions will first be taken from the public attending the meeting in-person and then those participating remotely via Teams or telephone. If your question is asked or addressed before you  are acknowledged, please lower your hand. Everyone will get a chance to speak if they wish to do so.

For those who try to speak without being recognized by the moderator, their comment or question may not be heard. Also, it has come up that the raise your hand feature in Teams is not always available depending on how you join the meeting. If you do not have the ability to raise your hand, please politely interject and ask the moderator to speak, only when the question/discussion portion of the meeting is opened by the moderator.

To dial in by phone, call 1-406-318-5487. The phone conference ID is 999 771 122#.

To join on a video conferencing device, the tenant key is [email protected] and the video ID is 111 297 636.

NRDP will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this public meeting. For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations, call Meranda Flugge at 406-444-0229 or email at [email protected] as soon as possible but no later than 3 p.m. two business days in advance of the meeting.

Update on Early Restoration Projects in Libby

The Interim Restoration Plan (2024) describes how the state will use natural resource damage settlement funds obtained in the W.R. Grace bankruptcy for injuries to natural resources resulting from the operations at the vermiculite mine site known as OU3.

This includes funding for seven early restoration projects in Lincoln County, a total of approximately $2 million. Briefly, the status of these projects is:

- Libby Creek Restoration Feasibility Study: After initial evaluation of the restoration potential of the lower mile of Libby Creek, NRDP has decided to pause this project and reconsider the scope ahead of the fall project solicitation.

- Lincoln County Park Manager: project is on-going with the Libby Park District taking the lead.

- Flower Creek Waste Gravel Pile Removal: project is on-going with City of Libby taking the lead.

- Improve Norgard Trailhead: project is on-going with the Libby Park District taking the lead.

- Kootenai River Recreation Management Plan: project complete. The final document is available through Outdoor Community Partners: https://outdoorcommunitypartners.org/kootenai-river-recreation-framework/

- Redband Trout Broodstock Development: work is on-going with FWP taking the lead.

- Parmenter Creek Fish Screen: work is on-going with FWP taking the lead.

For more information on the scope of these projects and project sponsors, please see the Interim Restoration Plan at https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024.11.04-Final-Interim-Restoration-Plan-signed.pdf. 

For more information about NRDP’s work at Libby Asbestos OU3 and project eligibility: https://dojmt.gov/NRDP-sites/libby-asbestos/

Learn more about NRDP at https://dojmt.gov/nrdp/. To be added to the mailing list, sign up at https://dojmt.gov/nrdp/mail-sign-up/.