Montana
Second Montana ski resort looks to turn wastewater into powder
The Spanish Peaks Mountain Club has requested a permit from the Montana DEQ.
By Justin Franz MONTANA FREE PRESS
The Spanish Peaks Mountain Club in Big Sky has asked for a permit from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to let it turn wastewater into snow for skiing and snowboarding. The private club is the second Montana ski area to try and implement snowmaking technology that proponents say is good for the environment and skiers amid a warming climate.
More than a dozen ski areas in eight states, plus some in Canada, Switzerland and Australia, use wastewater to make powder. This past winter, the Yellowstone Club near Big Sky became the first in Montana to turn what was once sewage into snow. The Spanish Peaks Mountain Club and Yellowstone Club share a common parent company, CrossHarbor Capital Partners, but they operate as separate businesses. The Spanish Peaks terrain is operated by Big Sky Resort and accessible to the public.
If approved, Spanish Peaks Mountain Club would use the treated water to make snow on approximately 44.5 acres of groomed runs on Spirit Mountain and the Spanish Creek base area and about 40.7 acres in the Southern Comfort ski area. The ski area would mostly use the treated snow in November and December to build a base during the early season.
The project would be built out in two phases. During phase one, the ski area would use 23 million gallons of treated water per year to make about 18 to 24 inches of snow. During phase two, that would increase to 44 million gallons of water annually.
DEQ has prepared a draft environmental assessment and is accepting comments on the plan through June 6.
In an emailed statement to Montana Free Press, Spanish Peaks’ Vice President of Environmental Operations Richard Chandler wrote, “We are very excited about this effort and appreciate the Department of Environmental Quality’s careful review. The conservation community in Montana has embraced the concept of turning reclaimed water into base layer snow to reuse our precious resources, recharge the aquifer and extend cold water flow into our rivers in the late summer months. Projects like these will help add resiliency to the Gallatin River, especially during drought years.”
Chandler, who also oversees the Yellowstone Club’s environmental operations, has previously said that turning recycled water into snow is better for the environment than just releasing it into a river, which normally is what happens. By shooting it through the snowmaking equipment (it’s essentially misted onto the slopes as snow) the wastewater is treated again. Then, as it melts in the spring and enters the ground, it’s filtered a third time. Because of that, groups like the Gallatin River Task Force, Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, Great Yellowstone Coalition and the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators all supported the Yellowstone Club project.
The effort to turn wastewater into snow in Big Sky dates back more than a decade. In 2011, the Gallatin River Task Force, Yellowstone Club and DEQ teamed up to study the concept. The idea was that as climate change made the region’s snowpack more unpredictable, they could serve skiers and the watershed by making snow from treated water that is traditionally just put into rivers and other bodies of water. That winter they successfully turned a half-million gallons of wastewater into two acres of snow about 18 inches deep.
In 2020, the Yellowstone Club applied for a permit from DEQ to expand that pilot program into a permanent snowmaking operation on Eglise Mountain. The following year, the state issued a permit allowing the Yellowstone Club to turn 25 million gallons of wastewater into snow annually. Two years and $12 million later, the new system began making snow last November.
Under the current plan, 80% of the recycled water comes from the Big Sky community, and 20% comes from the Yellowstone Club. For the Spanish Peaks project, all of the water will come from the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District wastewater treatment facility.
Where Khloe Kardashian Stands With Ex French Montana More Than 10 Years After Breakup
French Montana is done keeping up with reality TV.
In fact, he only agreed to appear on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons over a decade ago as a favor to then-girlfriend Khloe Kardashian.
“She said to get on the show,” he exclusively told E! News at the BET Awards on June 28. “And I got on the show. Shout out to Khloe.”
The “Ever Since U Left Me” rapper, who split with Kardashian in December 2014 after eight months of dating, said the experience was “fun” because her family kept it real.
“They filmed their real life,” he continued. “And we were part of something together that one time. So it felt great. It didn’t feel like work because they film what they do everyday.”
As for his future in reality TV, the 41-year-old said those days are over, shutting down any prospective offers with a simple, “Negative.”
Although the “Unforgettable” artist—whose real name is Karim Kharbouch—may not be returning to television anytime soon, he has no problem hanging out with his ex-girlfriend these days.
French Montana, Rick Ross & Max B Turn the BET Awards Into “
06/28/2026
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GREAT FALLS — For Staff Sgt. Brianna St. Lawrence-Brody, service does not only happen in uniform.
Outside the gates of the base, she works at Benefis as a nurse, Great Falls Public Schools as a school nurse, and comes home as a wife and mom of four. For the Montana Air National Guard, she serves as a command post controller with the 120th Airlift Wing in Great Falls.
(WATCH: Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition)
Montana nurse and Guard member earns national Air Force recognition
This year, St. Lawrence-Brody was named the U.S. Air National Guard’s Outstanding Airman of the Year in the Non-Commissioned Officer category.
She said the recognition came as a surprise, especially because her path into the Guard started later than others.
“I joined very late in life,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I joined the Guard right before I turned 40. So for me, every opportunity that’s presented, I want to take the bull by the horns and just run with it and do the best of my ability.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she joined the Guard after finishing nursing school. She said she went straight from nursing school into helping open a COVID unit, while also working at Benefis.
She said that experience was the start of one journey, but not the whole of what she wanted to accomplish.
St. Lawrence-Brody joined the Guard for the opportunities, the challenge and to help build a future for her four children.
“It’s a little bit of a competition for myself,” she said. “Like, if I can do it, why not try my best to achieve it?”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
As a command post controller, she assists in helping move information during emergencies and major events.
“Outside, obviously, I’m a nurse. Inside the Guard, I have nothing to do with the medical field, which is kind of amazing,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “It keeps me on my toes.”
She explained balancing the Guard, two civilian jobs and four children takes support from her family, her employers and her unit. She said Benefis and GFPS have been supportive of her military service.
Her nomination included her deployment experience, training work overseas and involvement across the wing. St. Lawrence-Brody said she deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where she worked with an operations center supporting entities connected to Africa.
But, she says this recognition is not the finish line.
“This award, it’s not necessarily a landing pad for me,” St. Lawrence-Brody said. “I want to use it as a springboard.”
120th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
St. Lawrence-Brody hopes her story encourages others to keep taking on new opportunities, even when they feel uncertain.
“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and be okay with doing things afraid,” she said. “I think when you get to be okay with doing things afraid, that’s where you’re going to find the growth.”
She has already won at the Air National Guard level, but she recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the broader Air Force Outstanding Airman of the Year process, which includes nominees from the Guard, Reserve and major commands across the Air Force.
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