State OKs West Valley gravel pit
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
The Daily Inter Lake
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a mining permit for a 40-acre West Valley gravel pit last week, after concluding that it met the legal requirements.
The agency, which oversees the Opencut Mining Program, signed off on the environmental assessment and approved the permit on July 19.
The pit, which will be operated by Schellinger Construction, is part of a larger, 320-acre parcel at the southeast corner of the intersection of Farm to Market Road and Church Drive. Landowner Bruce Tutvedt has previously indicated a desire to mine gravel on the entire site.
Two other new or expanding gravel pits are located in this same general area. LHC also wants to expand a mine on Stillwater Road, and it recently requested a conditional-use permit for a new mine on 238 acres along Bald Rock Road, just west of Farm to Market.
Many West Valley residents have expressed concerns about this increase in gravel operations. Some feel these large, commercial mines violate the West Valley zoning regulations. Others say the road infrastructure can't handle the expected increase in truck traffic, or that industrial operations are inconsistent with the area's rural character.
The Department of Environmental Quality, however, said many of these issues fall outside its jurisdiction.
"Under the Opencut Mining Act, any party has the right to apply for a [gravel pit] permit on any site at any time, if the land is zoned appropriately," the environmental assessment notes. "DEQ must issue a permit if the application is complete and adequately addresses the requirements of the act. DEQ believes the potential off-site impacts [from the Tutvedt pit] will be reasonably mitigated, within the limits provided by state law."
The assessment discusses several potential impacts related to the project, including water and air quality, noise, traffic and aesthetics. It also gives the agency's response to various public comments and concerns raised about the mine.
For example, the assessment estimates that the mine would generate an average of 52 dump truck trips per day on local roadways, based on a 10-year life of the mine and a total production volume of 1.5 million cubic yards.
By comparison, the agency says 3,800 vehicle trips per day would be generated by the new Glacier High School and adjacent West View Estates subdivision, which are located at the intersection of Stillwater Road and West Reserve Drive.
Although not mentioned in the permit, the actual number of truck trips generated by the Tutvedt pit would most likely depend on market demand, and thus could be more or less than the estimate of 52. In addition, the total production volume could increase substantially if the remainder of the 320-acre site is developed.
A recent evaluation conducted for the Montana Department of Transportation suggested that a single loaded dump truck is equivalent to 1,280 passenger cars, in terms of the amount of wear and tear it causes on rural roads.
If that's accurate, 10 years of truck traffic from the Tutvedt mine would generate as much wear and tear as 192 million passenger vehicle trips, based on current road design standards.
Hours of operation for the mine would be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Trucks are restricted from hauling past West Valley School in the morning and afternoon, when parents are dropping off or picking up their children.
The project would be required to install several dust mitigation measures, including spray bars on its crusher and screener and dust suppression on the internal haul road.
Estimated water usage at the mine would be about 4.6 million gallons per year, according to the assessment, all of which would come out of the valley's deep aquifer.
By comparison, Tutvedt said he uses about 120 million gallons per year to irrigate his farmland.
The maximum depth of mining would be 35 feet below the surface, which is higher than either the deep aquifer or the shallower Lost Creek aquifer. Consequently, the project isn't expected to have any impact on water quality.
The assessment indicates that gravel stockpiles at the site would be about 20 feet higher than Farm to Market Road.
The Flathead County Board of Adjustment approved a conditional-use permit for the entire 320 acres last year, although it limited the project to 80 acres of disturbed area at any one time.
Schellinger Construction subsequently applied for a state permit on 40 acres. That permit could be expanded at any time, subject to DEQ review and approval.
Tutvedt and Flathead Citizens for Quality Growth, a group of West Valley homeowners, both sued the Board of Adjustment for its approval of the conditional-use permit.
Tutvedt disagreed with the board's decision to prohibit asphalt or concrete batch plants from operating at the mine; Flathead Citizens said the entire permit should have been denied.
District Court Judge Stewart Stadler ruled against both parties earlier this year; the two sides subsequently appealed their combined lawsuits to the Montana Supreme Court.
In the environmental assessment, the Department of Environmental Quality indicated that it can't delay a decision on the permit application until the court case is resolved.
Copies of the assessment are available on DEQ's Web site, at www.deq.mt.gov/ea/opencut.asp
Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com