County needs dust program partners

March 27 deadline looming for cost-sharing effort

Residents who want to tap into Flathead County's cost-sharing dust abatement program this summer may want to heed an age-old adage: Speak now or forever hold your peace.

The deadline to sign up for the first-time program is March 27, and to date the county has had little response from rural residents, Public Works Director Dave Prunty said Monday.

Road dust has been a hot issue that's progressively gotten worse in recent years because of rapid growth in rural areas.

The new program is a pay-to-play offer, so to speak.

The county has set aside $100,000 for the cost-sharing effort in which the county will split the cost of putting magnesium chloride on sections of county roads at least half a mile long.

Magnesium chloride, the most cost-effective dust palliative, costs about $4,000 per mile. With matching funds from rural residents, the county would be able to treat 50 miles of gravel roads.

The program is designed for neighbors to apply as a group, Prunty said. Each group would select a project coordinator to be a liaison with the county road department.

The county wants to hear from groups of neighbors, not individuals, he stressed. Dust palliative won't be applied to short sections of road to accommodate individual property owners. To qualify, the road must be maintained by the county.

Groups of neighbors will have the option of choosing emulsified asphalt (black oil) for dust suppression. It can be more effective than the magnesium chloride, but it's about twice as expensive, roughly $8,000 a mile. The county's match for oil will be the same as it is for magnesium chloride - $2,000 a mile.

Magnesium chloride will suppress dust for eight to 12 weeks, depending on the type of road and daily traffic.

"We'll have an engineer help us decide what is best" for certain roads, Prunty said. "And remember, dust palliative doesn't mean dust-free."

Flathead County is modeling its new cost-sharing program after a similar effort that has been used in Gallatin County for several years.

"It's been pretty successful for them," Prunty said.

Tough economic times may affect some citizens' ability to pay their portion of the cost sharing, Prunty acknowledged, but added that neighbors will have to work it out if they want to participate.

Residents interested in participating in the program should choose a spokesperson to call the county road department at 758-5790 for an application form.

ROAD DUST has become a nagging program for the county. And although mitigating road dust is just a small portion of what the road department does, the county has had to make it a priority since the state fined Flathead County two years ago for air-quality violations because of dust.

In January 2007 the county was threatened with a $29,000 fine by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for failing to take 'reasonable precautions to control emissions of airborne particulate matter" on gravel roads.

To resolve the issue, county administrators created a road dust action plan and mitigation timeline.

Flathead's dust situation is unique for several reasons.

First, the county has 700 miles of gravel roads, more than anywhere else in the state. Add another 400 miles of paved roads, and it's a lot of ground to cover.

Second, nearly two-thirds of the county's population lives outside of incorporated cities. That ratio is opposite of what is found elsewhere in Montana. Most of the large counties have their population bases in cities.

Third, tremendous growth during the past decade has caused traffic counts on gravel roads to skyrocket. Heavy traffic loads pulverize gravel roads and create dusty conditions.

And as the cost of road maintenance has gone up, funding has gone down, primarily due to the loss of timber revenue.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com