Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 5.11.16

LIKE I WAS SAYING 30 AMERICAN RURAL 30 DRAWING BOARD 31 Viewpoints
LETTERS
Improve Protections Along Scenic Railways
More than 30 million gallons of Bak- ken crude oil pass down the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Flathead corri- dor each week, crossing many smaller streams and passing along White sh Lake. There were 37 train derailments along this stretch between 2000 and 2012. Until now, that has mostly seen corn, rice or frozen turkeys in our river. Oil train tra c has increased by more than 5,000 percent nationwide since 2009 and the dangers to our water and wildlife are compounded.
One 30,000-gallon tank car in the river could impact water quality all the way to Flathead Lake and pollute the essential groundwater aquifers on which we all depend for clean water. BNSF has pledged to spend $180 million on Mon- tana track improvements. We must see that much of that money is spent to improve protections and not merely to increase tra c capacity.
More can be done. We must prepare for an overwhelming response should a spill occur, but our rst priority must be prevention. We can assure that all tank cars on this stretch meet the highest safety standards. We can also limit the numbers of tank cars per train. In 2004, an avalanche derailed 15 empty rail cars near Marias Pass. What if those cars had been full of crude oil? There are cur- rently only eight avalanche sheds along the Middle Fork to protect 40 avalanche paths along a nine-mile stretch.
Visitors spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to visit this unique place bounded by wilderness and Gla- cier National Park. Their money drives our local economy and it would all be in jeopardy should we destroy our pristine waterways. Please let BNSF, the Mon- tana Public Service Commission and local and state governments know that we cannot a ord to neglect protection of these cherished resources for future generations.
LaVerne Sultz Kalispell
Zinke Needs to Get Correct Information on CFAC
Having read Congressman Ryan Zin- ke’s recent letter, and having heard his story/photo-op stop at the now shut- tered Columbia Falls Aluminum Com- pany plant, I must respond. Being that I go back to the late Anaconda Aluminum era into the Atlantic Rich eld era, as one of the Purchasing Department employ- ees who ended up as the Purchasing Manager handling all major raw mate- rials, with a budget of $56 million per
year, a response is required. I have the utmost respect for Congressman Zinke, but his take on “things” as this plant is being torn down is o center. A reminder is needed in that Glencore’s attorneys got up from the bargaining table with our governor and his agencies, and thus turned their backs on the state taking the lead on whatever will be needed to salvage that property to a useable piece of real estate. At that point, the City Council of Columbia Falls, of which I am an elected member, then lettered D.C. to help.
Sen. Jon Tester was all over it fairly quickly, and thus we are where we are awaiting the EPA decision in fall of 2016. At the moment, those of us who live here know how “slow” things are progressing with our state agencies even now being responsible for simple building removal. How can they handle the real question, about all the contaminates buried in the various “dumps” on plant site. In my opinion, neither sta nor monies are available within our state’s agencies to handle this. And this continuing re ec- tion of EPA sites not cleaned up is false. Just how many are old mine sites now approaching 100 plus years’ worth of tailings? To even compare Libby’s mine to our plant is erroneous, as one brought material via the employee and area-wide use in a now known danger, and the CFAC plant which is located in Flathead County outside our city’s border prob- lem with buried production “stu ” now chemically breaking down in the ground and posing a huge risk to the Flathead River, and wells in the geographic area.
I ask the congressman to please come and spend some time with those of us in the front line of this problem, and get the correct information. If it means a cleanup is assured and a Superfund list- ing, then so be it. I put my big boy pants on every morning and assure you I can handle this. But to delay and argue over who, what, where, is not going to protect the property and local environment. Congressman Ryan Zinke, please come see us.
Michael F. Shepard Columbia Falls
Montana Doesn’t Have Funds to Manage Federal Lands
As a public school boy in the 1970s, I learned the Woodie Guthrie song “This Land is Your Land.” It seemed, at the time, a celebration of all the good things about the American landscape – oceans and trees, rivers and valleys, mountains and prairies. The tune is instantly recog- nizable by most Americans even today, ending with the a rmation “This land was made for you and me.”
With time though, things get
forgotten, and not just the lyrics to a song. Do you remember this verse?
“There was a big high wall there, that tried to stop me
Sign was painted, said ‘private property’
But on the back side it didn’t say nothing
This land was made for you and me.”
It’s part of the song – Google it if you’ve forgotten.
I fear that Steve Daines has forgotten the song’s message, and it appears that his memory is getting worse. Just over a year ago, Senator Daines cast a decid- ing vote on the Murkowski amendment, creating a “reserve fund” to facilitate the sale, transfer, or exchange of lands. This, by the way, could include selling cher- ished wilderness areas that previously were, in most people’s minds, clearly out- of-bounds from the real estate market.
As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Appropri- ations committees, Daines could have an outsized impact on how public lands are managed. Aside from championing Senator Tester’s legislation that’s been in the works for years, what has Daines accomplished? He’s failed to deliver on re-funding reform as a member of the majority. He’s failed to deliver on tim- ber reform, and he’s failed to nd com- mon ground with stakeholders in favor of bowing down to Senate leadership.
It’s clear to anyone paying attention that western states like Montana sim- ply do not have the population base to pay for the full cost of managing federal lands. The roughly 25 million acres of federal lands in Montana could, by some estimates, cost as much as $500 million for the state of Montana to manage.
That’s simply more than the state’s residents can a ord, and I think Daines knows this.
My concern, and the concern of many I know, is simple: The push to transfer federal lands to the state is a thinly veiled step in the transition of these cherished resources into private hands. “Gee. You can’t a ord to manage those lands? Here – let us take care of that for you.”
Kiss your favorite (insert stream/ valley/trail/peak/hunting location) goodbye.
Montana has been sharing the beauty of this lovely corner of God’s green earth with our fellow Americans for decades. In return, our fellow citizens have sup- ported these “last, best places” with their travel and tourism dollars as well as their tax dollars. While it’s not a per- fect arrangement, it ain’t broke ... so Sen. Daines, don’t try to x it.
Kelly Palmer Troy
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MAY 11, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
LETTERS
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