LETTER: Ask for extension on comments about Creston bottling plant

Regarding the proposed Creston bottling plant:

First of all, thank you, Daily Inter Lake, for getting this story out to us. For those of us who live in the Creston area, this plant and the DNRC permitting system is very troubling. I hope it is troubling to everyone.

I know that water rights have been around forever, and I certainly don’t have a problem with that in most cases. This bottling plant is a whole different animal. The Creston Hatchery uses a lot of water each year, but they release most of it back into the system. Farmers and ranchers use water, and a large portion is returned to the system (what percentage I don’t know).

One thing I do know is that this bottling plant could take the equivalent of 2 billion bottles of water each year. That water is gone, never to return and the plant could do this every year. I don’t believe water rights were ever intended for that purpose.

Please contact the DNRC field office in Kalispell at 883-3960, and ask them to extend the objection period to 60 days so this can be studied in much greater detail. The person who can authorize an extension on the comment period to 60 days is Kathy Olsen. Her email is kolsen@mt.gov. Friday is the deadline to contact her.

—Jay Trepanier, Kalispell