Action on gravel-pit bill delayed

By JIM MANN

Rep. Mike Jopek requested postponement until today

The Daily Inter Lake

HELENA - The Montana House deferred action again Thursday on a gravel-pit bill with amendments pertaining to open-pit operations near national parks.

Rep. Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, said House Bill 583 was deferred at his request until today, the last day of the legislative session, to allow people to research its impacts.

Some Republicans are suspicious that amendments from Gov. Brian Schweitzer's office are aimed at putting a roadblock in front of a permit for expanded operations at a West Glacier gravel pit owned by Bob Spoklie. The Montana Contractors Association and Spoklie's legal representatives in Helena have similar suspicions.

The amendments would require the Department of Environmental Quality to consult with a national park about any gravel-pit operation within one mile of the park to determine whether the operation would present any adverse impacts.

Jopek said questions exist about whether the amendment applies to existing permits or new permits. "It only applies to new permits," he said.

Spoklie is acquiring a new permit that allows him to expand his operation, but Jopek said he believes the DEQ is required to allow the expansion under terms of a legal settlement between Flathead County and Spoklie.

Jopek said he supports the amendments because the state should have an obligation to consult a national park on the impacts of open-pit mining near a park, such as Glacier, when the state wants British Columbia to pursue similar consultations about an open-pit coal mine in the Canadian Flathead drainage.

Flathead legislators are getting considerable correspondence from Flathead residents, who clearly think the amendments will block expansion of Spoklie's gravel pit.

Rep. Jon Sonju, R-Kalispell, received a stack of messages urging him to support the amendments. But he says he will not, because he considers the last-minute amendments to be an unfair surprise with no time for rebuttal or debate.

The main content of House Bill 583 is aimed at clarifying terminology in state laws that pertain to gravel-pit regulation.