Libby, Montana, is one of those old mining towns that got the short stick environmentally after the logging and mining companies closed down, leaving severely polluted earth and air behind them.  It was designated as a Superfund site in 2000 as a result of the asbestos-contaminated soils left in the area when W.R. Grace closed down the last vermiculite mine.  Much has been written and chronicles about the asbestos dangers to the population of 2900 remaining folks.

So, it is great to hear about a partnership that has had a large and positive impact on the area's other, related environmental problem - extremely dirty air.  The Libby Valley is surrounded by 6,000 ft. mountains.  The town's bathtub-like topography makes it subject to air inversions that trap the remaining pollutants and the smoke from wood stoves, particularly in winter.  In the 1990's, the industrial pollution, combined with a base of old wood-burning stoves, sent particulate emissions well past EPA allowances.  A study released by the University of Montana in 2004 found that wood smoke contributed approximately 80 percent of the fine particulate matter in the town’s immediate atmosphere.  Further study by the EPA found that older, uncertified stoves released 15 to 30 grams of smoke per hour, while new EPA-certified stoves produced only 2 to 5 grams, reducing smoke emissions by 65-90 %. 

Enter a partnership that included the EPA, the State of Montana, Lincoln County and the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association
(HPBA).  In June 2005, the group launched a wood stove changeout program.  Phase I provided money to replace 260 wood stoves in low-income households at no cost to the homeowner.  Phase II issued 791 households and businesses vouchers to replace their costs at a low cost.  Another 79 wood stoves that were not functioning properly were repaired. 

The results were great.  "By 2007, average wintertime fine particulate levels in the outdoor air decreased by nearly 30 percent. The results are even more dramatic for indoor air quality with initial research by the University of Montana finding indoor air more than 70 percent cleaner in homes with new, EPA-certified stoves," according to an article on the changeout program published by the HPBA.

Cleaning up emissions to prevent debilitating climate change will require a myriad of practical solutions similar to this solution that this partnership came up with in Libby.