More $ up for grabs for OU3 work; public meetings planned

The State of Montana Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP) is soliciting proposals for projects that will restore the natural resources that were damaged or degraded by the release of hazardous substances in or relating to Operable Unit 3 (OU3; the mine site) of the Libby Asbestos Superfund Site.

NRDP is considering preparing an addendum to the Libby Asbestos OU3 Interim Restoration Plan to fund additional early restoration projects that address aquatic habitat, terrestrial habitat and/or recreation in Lincoln County and the Kootenai River watershed. 

Approximately $3-4 million could be available for restoration projects, at the discretion of Gov. Gianforte.

A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27 in the Ponderosa Room at Libby City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St.

There will also be a remote option to attend the meeting via Microsoft Teams. Refer to the memorandum for information about the virtual meeting.

Natural Resource Damage Program officials will also be available for members of the public to drop in with questions or to discuss project ideas from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the conference room at the Libby Memorial Events Center, 111 E. Lincoln Blvd.

In 2023, the State and W.R. Grace agreed to a resolution that resolved the remainder of the state’s claim in Grace’s bankruptcy. 

The deal included $18.5 million in natural resource damages to restore, replace, rehabilitate or acquire the equivalence of the State natural resources injured by the release of hazardous substances in or relating to OU3. 

This money is being paid to the State over 10 years and installments are placed in the Libby Asbestos OU3 Restoration Fund.

Grace owned the vermiculite mine near Libby that operated from the 1920s to 1990. Contamination within the Libby Asbestos Superfund site is largely due to asbestos that was present in the vermiculite from the mine and released to the environment through the mining and milling process, tailings runoff, transportation of materials and asbestos-containing waste. 

Additional contamination has been found from the mining and milling operations, various chemical reagents used in processing and the historic landfill.

In 2024, NRDP finalized the Libby Asbestos OU3 Interim Restoration Plan, which describes how these funds are managed before a final Restoration Plan is developed. The plan allocated $7 million that had been received at the time to repay past costs incurred during the settlement negotiations ($2 million) and to seven early restoration projects ($2 million). 

The remaining $3 million was reserved for allocation in the final Restoration Plan or in a future addendum to it. Since the IRP was finalized, the state has received an additional $4 million from Grace.

NRDP has prepared a memo that summarizes the purpose and scope of the addendum to the interim restoration plan, identifies preliminary early restoration project goals and describes how the public can participate.

This memorandum, the project application form and frequently asked questions are available on NRDP’s website at https://dojmt.gov/nrdp/notices/ or by calling 406-444-0205:

Those interested in this work are asked to send proposals, questions and concerns to: Montana Natural Resource Damage Program, 1720 9th Ave., P.O. Box 201425, Helena, MT 59620-1425. 

For those submitting digitally, the email is [email protected]. 

Those submitting proposals should put “Libby Asbestos OU3 2026 IRP Addendum” in the subject line.

They must be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, 2026.