DEP Press Advisory on Deer Hunting Cancellation, October 2, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Libby ••• (.

So far, he said, Grace is paying $1,042 a month for his oxygen costs, along with all medical bills stemming from Libby contamina­ tion. But what happens if the com­ pany, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year, runs out of money? Many residents fear a Super­ fund cleanup could drag on for years and discourage new busi­ nesses from coming to Libby, which already has double-digit un­ employment and a stone-cold real estate market. But considering all they’ve been through, hardly any­ one has left town: Many know they couldn’t sell their houses now for what they’re worth. Most realize that Libby, for all its past prob­ lems, is now a safe place to live. And few, after living all their lives here, have anywhere else to go; The EPA tries to be reassuring. Peronard says nine of the worst' sites in town will be cleaned up; this fall and vows he can get the rest of the job done in three years —- going from house to house, cleaning up properties that need it. The mine itself is in another category, he admitted — so con­ taminated it could take the rest of this century to fix. “Look,” said Mayor Tony Bet--’ get. “There’s contamination, an^' we want it cleaned up. I hav^ small children, and I want them to, grow up in a safe environment^ But we’re not America’s Chemo-’ byl. 3:. “You can still hike up to a moun- ' tain lake here, you can spend a j whole week and never see another person. And there’s not a whole lot of places in the country that cant say that,” Berget said.

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