It appears Gallatin Valley residents understand the need for
gravel but don’t like the manner in which the tiny rocks are mined.
And there isn’t much that state officials can do about it until
state laws change, state officials said.
A panel of state and county officials fielded questions from
residents for more than two hours at the Gallatin Gateway Community
Center Monday night concerning two proposed gravel pits and one
expanding operation. The forum was put together by Sen. Gary Perry,
R-Manhattan, who represents the area where the contentious issue of
open cut mining is happening.
“We have some issues to discuss tonight that affects all of us,”
Perry said. “I brought state government to you.”
Residents expressed a host of concerns, from water quality and
noise to diminished property rights and traffic.
But there is little that state officials can do to stop, curtail
or further regulate gravel mining operations, and tried repeatedly
to hammer home that notion.
Perry pledged to work on drafting new legislation to address
open-cut mining. He said writing new laws that respects property
rights will not be easy but he believes a balance can be reached
between development and homeowners.
“It’s going to be a delicate and difficult issue,” Perry
said.
Churchill-area resident Dave Hoekema seems to be plagued by
gravel pits. A former resident of Mountain View subdivision,
Hoekema moved to get away from the noise and traffic caused by the
two gravel pits along Frontage Road near Belgrade. Now, two pits
are being proposed along Highline Road and he is concerned about
traffic along Amsterdam Road, a highway already encumbered with
traffic woes.
“What’s going to happen when all of these trucks are on the road
and nothing is done to fix it?” Hoekema asked.
Basically, the law only requires the state to look at the
specific site and does not take cumulative effects into
consideration, Montana Department of Transportation Director Jim
Lynch said. Also, MDT officials only can address developments that
operate adjacent to a state highway; everything else is left to
county officials.
Lynch cautioned the crowd about asking the state for help
because it may be a road residents do not want to travel.
“Do you really want state government to decide that in your
county?” he asked. “That’s what you’re talking about here. You have
to ask yourself do you want us or do you want your elected county
government representing you?”
Responding to a question about Highway 191, Lynch said his
agency will need to address those issues eventually, but they can
do nothing about the “footprint” of gravel pits.
“We are going to have to address the future impacts on the
roadway and I suppose tax dollars will be part of the solution,” he
said.
State laws also spell out environmental rules concerning gravel
mining, said Steve Welch of the Montana Department of Environmental
Quality.
““We can (only) disclose the potential problems; we can’t
restrict them,” he said.
Gravel pits are allowed to increase in size under current laws,
he said.
“We can’t change that at our office. That’s up to
legislators.”
The Legislature is going to have the ultimate answer to the
question of proliferating gravel mining, Perry said.
“It lands in state law,” he said. “It’s something we can achieve
together and will be a balance of property rights protection.”
Another public forum on the issue will be held Nov. 8, where the
Gallatin County Commission plans to address zoning issues regarding
gravel pits. The 1:30 p.m. meeting will address both the two
proposed gravel pits on Highline Road and the expansion issue at
Gallatin Gateway.
