HELENA – State regulators have authorized major expansion of a gravel pit next to Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.
A permit that allowed gravel work on 2 acres has been amended by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to cover a total of 24 acres, the edge of which is about 600 feet from the river forming Glacier’s western boundary.
Opponents of the expansion have said it threatens views from some areas of the park and stands to generate noise and dust, concerns dismissed by pit operator Bob Spoklie.
He said Wednesday that his Canyon Gravel business is not likely to undertake gravel work on all 24 acres, but as a backstop he wanted authorization for that much land so he need not go through the approval process again should needs change.
“It takes 2 acres just for our machinery,” said Spoklie, adding that his gravel has been used in park projects, among them employee housing. “It’s possible that as far as the mining area itself, it may never be over 10 acres for 100 years.”
Will Hammerquist of the National Parks Conservation Association said that given how Montana’s gravel-pit laws are structured, DEQ likely had no alternative to approving the expansion.
“This particular project and this expansion will have impacts on the park, particularly in terms of viewshed,” Hammerquist said Wednesday. “Apgar Lookout (Trail) looks right down on it.”
Glacier National Park officials had expressed concern about the expansion and spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt said Wednesday that they were disappointed DEQ did not prepare an environmental impact statement. Instead, the state agency prepared an environmental assessment, a smaller undertaking than an EIS. Legally mandated time constraints for processing gravel-permit applications prevent the time-consuming preparation of impact statements, said Neil Harrington, a DEQ bureau chief.
“We are concerned about wildlife impacts,” Vanderbilt said. “That (pit area) is a wildlife corridor adjacent to the park.”
Projections that trucks hauling gravel will increase to 46 on some days, up from 22, heighten concern about effects on natural resources, she said.
Spoklie bought the gravel site in 2004 and wanted to reopen the pit, inactive since 1995, but got into a zoning clash and sued Flathead County. The subsequent settlement allowed gravel mining but established a number of restrictions, including one that prohibits gravel crushing operations — which may generate noise and dust — during certain times of the year.
“That precludes a lot of the operation, when you can’t crush,” said DEQ’s Harrington.
The settlement also limits to 8 acres the land where gravel mining may occur at any one time.
Opponents of the pit include Patrick Ford, who said trucks hauling gravel pass within 50 feet of his home.
“I’m still trying to find some other angle to hold it (the gravel mining) up,” Ford, who has lived on his land for about 15 years, said Wednesday. He said his property was advertised as residential, and he bought it for the isolation.
Spoklie said an access road for gravel work has been paved, minimizing dust; noise from his operation cannot be heard one-quarter mile away; and even an enlarged pit will be difficult to see from the park.
Final reclamation of the mined land is projected for December 2035, according to the amended permit, which specifies a performance bond of $52,050, up from $1,500.
DEQ’s environmental assessment found the land had been logged repeatedly, historic mining had disturbed at least 8 acres and although wildlife were evident, no nesting sites or dens were reported on the 24 acres, which are above the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.
“The mine is not the only potential source of noise in the area,” reads part of the assessment. “U.S. Highway 2 and BNSF’s main line railroad tracks also add to the local noise levels. Whereas the mine in 26 years will become a pasture, the highway and railroad will continue, and possibly increase in audible volume and/or duration.”