State issues study of West Valley gravel pit
Comments due Dec. 30 on proposal
The Daily Inter Lake
Public comment is being accepted through next week on the draft environmental assessment for a proposed West Valley gravel pit.
The Department of Environmental Quality evaluated potential impacts from a new, 40-acre gravel mine at the intersection of Farm to Market Road and Church Drive.
Earlier this year, the Flathead County Board of Adjustment approved a conditional use permit for a 320-acre gravel pit at this location.
The Tutvedt Family Partnership submitted the original application. Schellinger Construction now is seeking a state permit for the initial phase of the project.
The environmental assessment indicates that Schellinger is proposing to mine, crush and transport roughly 1.5 million cubic yards of sand and gravel over a 10-year period.
"The pit would be dug approximately 35 feet deep in an area where the surface soil averages 8 inches and the groundwater is estimated to be well below the surface," the document states. "There are no plans to enter the groundwater at this site."
Access to the project would be via Farm to Market Road. The hours of operation would be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The assessment suggests that, subject to various conditions, the proposed mine would have no significant impacts on water quality or quantity, air quality, wildlife, or public health and safety.
There would be impacts related to aesthetics; however, the report says that "reclamation would return the area to a visually acceptable landscape."
There would also be noise impacts, but "the noise level would be reduced to moderate levels at the permit boundary and would continue to decline beyond that."
No new jobs would be created, according to the assessment.
The conditional use permit approved by the Board of Adjustment imposes multiple conditions on the project, including requirements for some paving, sound-dampening devices and shielded lighting, plus morning and afternoon travel restrictions in the area near West Valley School to minimize potential conflicts between gravel trucks and school-related traffic.
The county also limited the mine to a maximum of 80 acres at any one time. This includes the active mine area as well as any related work areas and active reclamation areas.
Asphalt and concrete batch plants were specifically prohibited, although that condition is currently being challenged in court.
A legal challenge also has been filed over the Board of Adjustment's approval of the gravel project.
Copies of the draft assessment are available on the state Web site at www.deq.mt.gov/ea/opencut.asp
The state will accept written comments on the draft study through Dec. 30.
Comments may be mailed or faxed to: Department of Environmental Quality, Industrial and Energy Minerals Bureau, 109 Cooperative Way, Kalispell MT 59901, 755-8985 (phone) or 755-8977 (fax).