Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 5.18.16

NEWS
Glacier Park Plows Clearing Logan Pass
BY BEACON STAFF
The plow crews are busy clearing the way for summer in Glacier National Park. Last week the crews pioneered the Big Drift and began to clear the Logan Pass Visitor Center parking lot. The National Park Service is also clearing debris along lower sections of Going-to-the-Sun Road in preparation for summer and the agen-
cy’s centennial celebration.
NPS o cials say they hope to open the
Sun Road to Logan Pass by mid-June. Glacier Country Tourism is hosting a community celebration on May 18 from
5-7 p.m. at the Glacier Outdoor Center in West Glacier. Special guests will include Montana’s Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney, Glacier National Park Superin- tendent Je Mow and Expedia’s Head of Global Corporate Citizenship Katherine Cheng.
Currently 29 miles of the Sun Road are open for travel. Visitors can drive 15.5 miles from the West Entrance to Ava- lanche, an 13.5 miles from the St. Mary Entrance to Jackson Glacier Overlook.
On the west side, the hiker/biker clo- sure is located at the Loop, approximately 8 miles past Avalanche Creek, while the
Plows clear snow from the parking lot at Logan Pass on May 13, 2016. COURTESY GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
road crew is working. The section of road between Avalanche and the Loop is also posted due to bear frequenting.
The hiker/biker closure on the east side is located at Siyeh Bend, approxi- mately 2 miles past the vehicle closure, while the road crew is working.
The Inside North Fork Road is cur- rently closed at Logging Creek RS and Fish Creek due to the weather. The south- ern end of the road is now open to Camas Creek, approximately 6.5 miles north of the Fish Creek junction.
news@ atheadbeacon.com
State Agrees to Hear Concerns Over Water Bottling Plant Locals organize over potential negative impacts as state agency sets hearing
BY TRISTAN SCOTT OF THE BEACON
The Montana Department of Natural
Resources and Conservation has vali- dated dozens of formal objections from farmers, property owners and other entities over a proposed Creston-area water-bottling plant, prompting an addi- tional layer of government review and triggering a hearing around the contro- versial plan.
Lew Weaver, the owner of Montana Artesian Water Co., is seeking a water right permit from the state to pump 710 acre-feet of water annually from an underground aquifer near Egan Slough along the Flathead River, the equivalent of 1.2 billion 20-ounce water bottles.
Weaver’s request, and his goal to pro- duce 140,000 water bottles per hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at a facility on his farmland, drummed up considerable attention, fueling concerns among neigh- bors and residents across the valley.
Weaver has defended his plans, saying he followed the proper regulatory steps and studied the potential environmental
consequences.
The DNRC issued a preliminary water
right permit in January, stating that the single well could draw up to 231.5 million gallons per year from the underground aquifer. However, the agency agreed to extend the period for formal objections until April 7 after area residents, includ- ing water right holders, requested more time.
The DNRC reviews new water right applications based on six sets of criteria and grants preliminary approval if the applicant meets all those requirements. A ected water users may then le objec- tions based on the criteria.
Jamie Price, a hearings assistant for the DNRC’s Water Rights Bureau, said the agency deemed about half of the roughly 75 objections it received as “valid.” Objections that failed to meet the standard were returned with a “de - ciency notice,” allowing objectors to resubmit them by a May 10 deadline. The state will now compile a nal list of valid objections.
In ruling that the concerns are valid,
DNRC agreed to consider more facts pre- sented in the case and to hold an admin- istrative hearing on the topic. However, it does not determine whether Weaver’s permit will be granted or denied.
“In a couple weeks, after all the valid- ity of objections is determined, the par- ties with valid objections will proceed to the next step, which is through the con- tested case process,” Price said.
The formal hearing date has not been set yet.
More than 30 nearby property own- ers represented by the same legal coun- sel, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Flathead Lakers, led formal objections that were validated by the DNRC.
The Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates the nearby Creston Fish Hatch- ery, led its formal objection on the basis that the DNRC failed to properly con- sider adverse impacts on the hatchery, which receives most of its water from the nearby 27-acre Jesup Mill Pond, a source that is fed by 13 artesian wells. The agency says the modeling used to
estimate the impact on surrounding users is awed, and “nowhere has con- sideration been given to a water balance for the aquifer,” the objection states.
In addition, locals have mounted opposition to the project by organizing Water for Flathead’s Future.
“As a community, we only have one chance to do this right,” Sandy Perry, organizer of Water for Flathead’s Future, stated in a press release. “We need to look before we leap, or we and future genera- tions will su er the consequences.”
The group also expressed concern that allowing Weaver’s bottling plant to move forward could set a precedent and lead commercial entities to establish bot- tling plants in the area. The group called for a moratorium on commercial bottling plants.
To open his plant, Weaver also must procure a draft discharge permit from the Montana Department of Environ- mental Quality. The agency expects to release a draft permit for public review next month.
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
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