Montana Department of Environmental Quality issues assessment approving Arlee gravel pit

MISSOULA – Arlee residents battling a proposed gravel pit have scored one factor few different Montana communities get anymore — an environmental evaluation. However, the evaluation’s conclusions don’t go of their favor.

On Wednesday, the Montana Division of Environmental High quality (DEQ) printed an environmental evaluation for the 160-acre Marvin Rehbein gravel pit and asphalt plant proposed northeast of Arlee on the Flathead Reservation. The evaluation discovered no standards that might hold the gravel pit from changing into operational.

DEQ decided that the gravel pit wouldn’t have an effect on floor or groundwater high quality or amount, despite the fact that neighbors expressed concern a couple of historic stream known as Pellew Creek. DEQ additionally anticipates that air high quality could also be considerably affected by mud from the pit and air pollution from the asphalt facility however considers the consequences short-term and negligible, though the pit operator would additionally must get hold of an air high quality allow.

The Montana Pure Heritage Program lists 20 species of concern within the neighborhood, together with bull trout and a number of other chicken species, however DEQ mentioned they’ll transfer to different areas whereas the pit is in operation.

As a result of the pit and asphalt plant can function across the clock for 25 years, DEQ mentioned “close by residences would incur visible and noise impacts throughout operation” however the pit operator proposed placing up berms to scale back the impact.

“The proposed operation may have a minor influence on the neighbors’ life surrounding the proposed allow space, together with The Backyard of One Thousand Buddhas. Direct impacts might be from ensuing adjustments in industrial noise and air high quality, however the severity of these impacts will range with their distance from the proposed opencut operation,” in keeping with the environmental evaluation.

The general public has till Feb. 24 to touch upon the environmental evaluation.

“This web site has had sturdy curiosity from the neighborhood,” mentioned Dan Walsh, DEQ’s mining bureau chief in a launch. “Whereas DEQ completely reviewed the appliance to make sure it meets state legislation and drafted an environmental evaluation to reveal the anticipated impacts, DEQ is accepting public touch upon the environmental evaluation.”

To say there was “sturdy curiosity” is an understatement, mentioned Arlee resident Jennifer Knoetgen. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe has voiced its concern about how the gravel pit and 24-hour asphalt plant would have an effect on the atmosphere. Many residents of Arlee have fashioned a nonprofit group, Buddies of the Jocko, particularly to oppose the gravel pit and set up zoning within the Jocko River Valley.

Knoetgen had but to learn the evaluation however mentioned the Buddies of the Jocko would positively be commenting.

“We’ve got been pushing to get this environmental evaluation. It’s a request we made, it’s a request the tribes made. We’ve requested everybody to push on the DEQ to make them do that, as a result of we thought it was vital and we didn’t suppose they have been giving them due diligence,” Knoetgen mentioned. “We’re simply on the brink of contract with a hydrologist to do a examine for us. So, hopefully, this draft environmental evaluation buys us a little bit bit extra time to get that examine carried out and in entrance of the DEQ.”

In mid-June, Arlee residents realized that Missoula-based Riverside Contracting, Inc., had utilized for a DEQ allow to dig the Marvin Rehbein gravel pit and run a 24-hour asphalt plant inside a half-mile of 24 residents, together with the Backyard of A Thousand Buddhas. A number of extra residents reside inside a 2-mile radius however the DEQ doesn’t think about them to be affected because the 2021 Legislature.

The primary purple flag for residents was that a number of weren’t notified of the proposal, studying of the pit solely by way of the grapevine. The second flag was studying that DEQ would maintain a public listening to on the proposal provided that greater than half of the residents inside a half-mile requested a listening to inside 30 days of the preliminary notification.

Knoetgen tried to rally her neighbors to request the listening to solely to study that even when they acquired a listening to, DEQ wouldn’t act on any of the problems raised because of a brand new legislation handed by Republicans through the 2021 Legislature.

With the passage of Home Invoice 599, sponsored by Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, many gravel pit safeguards that existed beforehand disappeared, together with residents’ capacity to oppose permits, and the time allowed for DEQ to adequately assess the appliance’s claims was reduce drastically.

Since June, DEQ has refused to carry a listening to for the Arlee pit. So the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes held their very own listening to on the finish of September, permitting residents to testify about their issues, that are many, from worries about groundwater to fixed gentle and noise air pollution from the asphalt plant to excessive ranges of truck visitors on Arlee’s filth roads that might final till 2047.

The one cause the gravel pit hasn’t opened but is as a result of DEQ had flagged some deficiencies within the utility that weren’t resolved till Dec. 6. Within the meantime, Buddies of the Jocko have reached out to the Lake County commissioners and different communities attempting to struggle the identical situation, together with Helena, Shepherd and Libby.

Libby is without doubt one of the few cities which were granted a public listening to, and residents have been annoyed when it led nowhere.

Riverside Contracting has round 80 gravel pit permits or allow functions, and DEQ has carried out environmental assessments on eight of them, together with the Marvin Rehbein, since HB 599 went into impact, in keeping with the DEQ allow checklist.