Page 6 - Flathead Beacon // 5.20.2015

6 | MAY 20, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM
READER POLL
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Would You Use a Ride-Sharing Service if it Came to Montana?
37% YES 63% NO TOTAL VOTES: 126
Do You Think Quarterback Tom Brady’s Suspension was a Fair Punishment?
64% YES 36% NO TOTAL VOTES: 109
Are You Concerned About Aquatic Invasive Species in Our Waterways?
93% YES 7% NO TOTAL VOTES: 161
ONLINE POLL RESULTS ARE NOT SCIENTIFIC
The bridge to Dockstader Island. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Flathead Lake Bridge Project Hits Snags
Floodplain permits denied, cease-and-desist letter sent from Army Corps of Engineers
By MOLLY PRIDDY of the Beacon
The controversial bridge project on the north shore of Flathead Lake has hit yet another series of speed bumps, after the county denied three floodplain develop- ment permits and the Army Corps of Engi- neers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the developers.
The developer Jolene Dugan, who is of- ten represented by her father Roger Sorti- no, has already begun construction on the bridge that will connect the mainland to an island that was once a spit of land.
Dugan submitted an application for a lakeshore construction project for the ac- cess bridge in 2011, and the Flathead Coun- ty Commission approved the project that year.
Since construction began, the bridge’s dimensions have changed and permits have been modified. In March, the county commission amended the project’s permit to extend the structure from 481 feet to
539 feet in length.
However, on May 7, the county com-
mission denied the developers’ application that would have allowed them to bring in a rock crusher to break down some of the riprap on the shore.
And on May 8, the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office denied the de- velopers’ requests for three floodplain de- velopment permits that sought to create ponds within the 100-year floodplain.
According to a letter from BJ Grieve, the county planning director and flood- plain administrator, the applications for these requests did not “adequately dem- onstrate compliance with the review crite- ria” for a floodplain permit, and were sub- sequently denied.
Included in the letter was the staff re- port regarding the ponds, wherein it is de- termined that the applicant did not pro- vide enough convincing evidence that the ponds would not negatively affect neigh- boring properties if they were to flood.
And on May 11, the Army Corps of En- gineers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Dugan and Sortino, serving as a notice of violation for the “unauthorized discharge of dredged or fill material into Flathead Lake and its adjacent wetlands.”
The letter refers to earthen or gravel
fill, “along with structural planking mate- rial acting as fill,” were placed in Flathead Lake. The letter said the road was approxi- mately 15 to 30 feet wide and 1,000 feet long, and “was constructed in waters of the U.S. without prior authorization.”
The letter then tells the developers to stop all activity related to the unauthor- ized fill, but “does not prohibit or limit all other actions or activities which do not place fill in jurisdictional waters of the U.S.”
Finally, the letter informs the develop- ers they have 15 days to respond with de- tails about the “unauthorized” work, dates and times work occurred, details about the dimension of the fills used, and details about the equipment used.
Copies of the letter were sent to county, state, and tribal agencies.
The Beacon called Sortino for com- ment on the bridge project’s status, and in- stead received a call from Randy Overton, a hydrogeologist with RLK Hydro, Inc.
Overton said he’s worked with Sortino before and was calling on his behalf, and though the Army Corps of Engineers’ let- ter lists both him and Sortino as recipients, he said neither had received a copy of it.
[email protected]