MILLTOWN — More Blackfoot Valley residents are becoming aware of a gravel pit proposed within yards of the Blackfoot River, and they’ve added their names to a petition asking the Missoula County Board of Commissioners for help.
Their concerns and frustrations were evident Wednesday night as Caroline — she doesn’t want to give her last name — of the recently organized Blackfoot River Community gave a presentation at the Bonner Kettlehouse Brewery on a gravel pit being proposed on 64 acres located about 3 miles east of Bonner. Close to 100 Blackfoot Valley neighbors, business owners and anglers from as far away as Seeley Lake gathered for the presentation as the Northern Lights began to shimmer above the river.
Starting with a quote from Robert Redford — “I’m not against mining where it can be done responsibly” — Caroline explained how she and her husband learned that a gravel pit was planned for the property just downstream from the Angevine Fishing Access Site and so close to the Blackfoot River that only the highway separates the two at some locations.
“The river is a living, breathing presence; its wildness is a gift. This whole state is a gift. And certain places in it deserve our respect, protection and reverence because they are sacred,” Caroline said. “Scarcity is an illusion, and gravel is not rare. We need gravel; we need to make it cost-effective. I get that. Where can we do that that isn’t going to negatively affect our environment, our air, our traffic, our water? Those would be interesting conversations to have.”
Caroline stepped through all the environmental problems a gravel pit and asphalt plant could cause, including sediment pollution in the river that could further endanger threatened bull trout. That could have a negative effect on the local outdoor economy, particularly outfitters who take customers down the river. Residents near the gravel pit could see their property values drop and there’d be traffic issues at a spot where people zip along the two-lane highway at 70 mph or more. When she asked how many drive the highway daily, about two dozen raised their hands.
The one advantage the Blackfoot River Community has over other grassroots groups who are trying to fight recently proposed gravel pits is that they discovered the landowner’s intention before the Montana Department of Environmental Quality received an application to develop an opencut mine or gravel pit. That gives the Blackfoot River Community some time, but it’s hard to stop such projects when there’s no zoning restrictions. Caroline warned the crowd that industrial development could happen anywhere along the Blackfoot River because it has no zoning.
However, Missoula County developed a regional growth plan in 2022, and the Blackfoot River corridor is designated for recreation and green space. So a gravel pit is not consistent with the growth plan, Caroline said.
Consultant Mike Bader introduced Caroline to a Montana law that allows the county commission to institute an interim zoning district if there’s an emergency that involves public health, safety or general welfare. The zoning would last for one year, extendable to two, during which time the county is required to study the issue and possibly come up with mitigation or other courses of action. Caroline called the possibility of interim zoning a “Hail Mary” for the Blackfoot.
So the Blackfoot River Community created a petition asking the county to do just that. It was delivered to the county on Thursday with the signatures of close to 1,500 people. Bader said Thursday that Commissioner Juanita Vero emailed back to say she'd discuss the issue with staff.
During the presentation, one man asked why another two years would make any difference because the gravel pit operator could wait out the delay. Bader said the effort was meant to buy time to come up with alternatives, during which environmental studies could be carried out and maybe the owner would sell.
“They don’t have a permit yet with DEQ. So it’s a big advantage to get this request in before that happens. Because once they have a permit, stopping it at that point becomes really expensive,” Bader said. “If the county gets involved, we have a chance to bring in the science.”
Gayla Nicholson of Protect the Clearwater agreed with Bader, detailing all the hoops her group has had to jump through to try to stop the gravel pit that DEQ approved on state land near the Clearwater Wildlife Management Area. The gravel pit would be quite close to homeowners with cabins on Elbow Lake, but they weren’t aware of the threat until the permits were already approved.
Nicholson told the crowd that the process doesn’t favor Montana citizens — they have to challenge the permit through the state’s administrative channels at the same time they were initiating a lawsuit in court. To cover both processes, her group has had to raise $165,000 and they are far from done.
“Because of the way (House Bill) 599 was written, citizens are really cut out of any participation in the process,” Nicholson said. “It’s super expensive, and that’s the game in my opinion. The citizens are continually having to supply legal and environmental expertise - we hired our own hydrologist. So I’m super excited that you found this before the permit was issued. It’s really important to not let this permit get issued, because that’s when the shenanigans take place and the costs go up.”
The 2021 Legislature passed House Bill 599, which made it much easier for operators to get an opencut permit from DEQ and made it harder for neighbors to oppose a permit. The bill created a “dryland permit,” which depends only on an applicant’s claim that surface water isn’t affected; limited the criteria that DEQ could analyze; and significantly decreased the amount of time DEQ could devote to analysis. It also negated DEQ’s responsibility to notify the public and the need for a public hearing if an insufficient number of neighbors asked for one. The Blackfoot gravel pit probably would not qualify for a dryland permit.
When one man asked if the pit operator could expand into adjacent properties if neighbors get fed up and move away, Nicholson said gravel pits are allowed to expand by 50%. Others expressed concern about the fact that the river is running at historic low levels, so it could suffer more damage if groundwater was affected by digging a gravel pit.
Another man asked if Governor Greg Gianforte, who prides himself on "cutting red tape" in favor of industry, could overrule Missoula County if it tried to establish interim zoning.
“I don’t know the answer, to be honest," Bader said. "But it is state law. But I think there’s solid ground for their authority to do it.”
Contact reporter Laura Lundquist at lundquist@missoulacurrent.com.
