Officials warn of possible asbestos exposure after Lincoln County floods, plan spring inspections

Melody, the presenter for the flood response item, told the board on Dec. 31 that county staff are coordinating with DEEQ and FEMA to assess possible movement of mine-related materials after recent flooding and to ensure testing and mitigation are handled properly. “I don't have a huge amount to update, but I just want to make sure we had a conversation here,” Melody said, outlining plans for spring site inspections of creek banks and offers to verify cleanup on private properties.

The county noted Libby Creek has lost rip-rap and a previously shielded area was washed out, increasing the risk that contaminated sediment or material could be mobilized during high water. A speaker who identified themselves as the county EMA said the levy at the port has a history of known inadequacies and that prior inspections involved Core engineers and interaction with the EPA. “I was the EMA at the time,” the EMA said while recounting earlier efforts to document the levy’s problems.

Why it matters: flood-driven erosion can expose or redistribute legacy mine waste, and the county said it wants to ensure testing and mitigation meet state and federal recovery standards. Melody said county staff and FEMA will coordinate on which sites get prioritized and that the county will return in spring when access is better to do initial inspections of creek banks and properties where rip-rap and walking paths were lost.

Board members and staff stressed several operational points: repairs to a failing levy and impacts to a local road that serves roughly 30–40 residents are immediate infrastructure concerns; uprooted trees on private lots may expose buried material and should be reported through ARP/U Dig processes for safe evaluation; and the county will work to document costs so they remain eligible for reimbursement. Melody also pushed back on a local news report, calling an article “BS” and saying the press coverage had overblown contamination concerns in places that have not shown visible vermiculite.

The county did not identify private properties with confirmed contamination during the meeting. Officials said Rainy Creek monitoring and other targeted checks have shown no problems in some monitored areas, but emphasized that pockets of concern remain where rip-rap and walking paths washed out. Next steps include more detailed engineering review of the failed levy, coordination with FEMA on which public sites qualify under the emergency declaration, and spring inspections to verify private-property cleanup when safe access is available.