Opposition may not matter

State ready to OK expansion of Spoklie gravel pit

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has gotten an avalanche of comments opposing an expansion of a controversial gravel pit near West Glacier, but will they make a difference?

"We have little authority in regards to denying an expansion permit like this," said Rod Samdahl, a state reclamation science technician who wrote the environmental assessment for the proposed expansion. "We don't have the option of saying, 'No you can't do that because it's unpopular.'"

Samdahl said the state does not determine where gravel pits are permitted.

Those land-use decisions rest with the county, and in this case, Flathead County settled a lawsuit with gravel pit owner Bob Spoklie two years ago. The settlement set conditions to mitigate some of the greater concerns regarding an expansion - conditions that went above and beyond what the Department of Environmental Quality normally would require, Samdahl said.

Even so, the DEQ has received about 130 comments, some from other states, and most oppose the expansion because the pit is located less than a quarter mile from Glacier National Park and the Middle Fork Flathead River, which has a Wild and Scenic River designation.

Glacier officials submitted comments outlining their concerns about expanding the pit from a current footprint of eight acres to about 24 acres over the next 25 years.

"We are very concerned that an expanded open-cut gravel mine is being considered in a location less than one-quarter mile from the Glacier National Park boundary and 500 feet from the boundary of the Wild and Scenic River corridor," the park's comments state.

The park cited concerns about noise, water quality, air quality and wildlife impacts.

Park officials also raised the issue of Montana and the U.S. government's opposition to potential mining in British Columbia, near the headwaters of Montana's North Fork Flathead River, which flows south along Glacier's western boundary.

"It is difficult to maintain an international position urging full public disclosure of development plans and potential resource impacts [in Canada] while accepting a perfunctory environmental analysis that ultimately permits a gravel mining operation so close to the same protected area."

Glacier Park officials contend that the expansion requires a full environmental impact statement under the Montana Environmental Policy Act instead of an "extremely cursory" environmental assessment.

But Samdahl said developing an environmental impact statement for a gravel pit would be new for the DEQ.

"We just do not do EIS's on gravel pits, anywhere," he said. "That has to do with time limits … that are required by the Legislature."

He said a state statute requires gravel pit applications to be processed within 30 to 60 days, depending on circumstances. And the Spoklie expansion permit is long overdue because of a backlog that developed due to heavy residential and commercial development in recent years.

"The last few years we were hit with a big slug of applications that kind of tipped our program over," Samdahl said.

Spoklie purchased the land in 2004 and immediately pursued plans to reopen a gravel pit that had not operated on the property since 1995. He faced immediate community opposition followed by a denial by Flathead County commissioners of Spoklie's conditional use permit.

That led Spoklie to file a lawsuit against the county and the subsequent settlement.

The settlement limited the active extraction area to a maximum of 8 acres at any one time. The overall size of the pit was capped at 24 acres, and crushing operations would be prohibited from June 15 to Aug. 21 and from Nov. 15 to March 12.

The amended permit would increase the operating area from 2 acres to 24 acres, with setbacks from adjacent property lines. It would increase the maximum mining depth from 30 to 70 feet and increase the amount of gravel to be removed from the area from 46,400 to 1.8 million cubic yards. A performance bond for the expanded pit would be increased from $1,500 to $52,050.

The settlement required Spoklie to pave more than a mile of Belton Stage Road, which Samdahl describes as the most important dust abatement measure that could be required.

The operation also would involve a wash plant that would be supplied with water from an on-site well. With a recycling process, the plant would use up to 22,000 gallons per day. That volume raises concerns in many of the comments submitted to the DEQ.

But Samdahl said it is actually a peak water consumption estimate that does not reflect the average water use that would be limited to the seasonal operating restrictions. The pit's gravel washing operation would rely on recycled water involving a settling pond system and a 6,000-gallon reserve tank.

The environmental assessment cites an average of 22 dump-truck trips per day involving the gravel mine.

During peak operations, truck trips already are in the dozens per day, said Patrick Ford, a neighbor who is directly impacted by gravel pit operations. His small home sits no more than 50 feet from the main haul road between the gravel pit and Belton Stage Road.

"It's been rocky ever since he [Spoklie] started," said Ford, who has lived on the property for about 15 years. "I can't even leave the windows open during summer time."

While the haul road has been oiled in the past, Ford said he is concerned about potential contamination to his well, which also is no more than 50 feet from the road.

Ford said he also is concerned about the impact of gravel pit operations on wildlife, especially elk that use the area during calving season.

Like others who oppose the expansion, Ford said he believes the county was wrong to settle the lawsuit, allowing the resumption of an industrial activity in an area that has become primarily devoted to homes and commercial tourism.

But for Spoklie, the lawsuit settled the validity of his operation and its expansion.

"We've won our lawsuit with the county," he told the Inter Lake last month. "That was the hurdle."

The deadline for submitting comments on the expansion permit is May 1. The environmental assessment is available online at www.deq.mt.gov/ea/opencut.asp

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com