Gravel pit next to GNP? Yes

Despite objections from Glacier National Park, a gravel pit near its borders has been given the green light by the state.

The Department of Environmental Quality last week approved a gravel pit proposed by Robert Spoklie off Belton Stage Road. The edge of the pit is about a quarter mile from the Park and officials there had raised concerns about dust, noise and water quality issues surrounding the pit.

But DEQ all but disagreed with the Park.

"Glacier National Park has commented that it disagrees that there will not be significant impacts, but it has not stated what those significant impacts are," the agency contends in the final environmental assessment.

The agency disagreed that noise and dust from the pit would impact Glacier. It noted the North Fork Road outside the Park raises dust that impacts the Park and other impacts from private property in the area, including a golf course and residential development, have impacts as well.

The pit will be visible from the higher elevations of the Apgar Mountain Trail in Glacier.

Spoklie was issued a permit Friday to begin operations, confirmed Neal Harrington, chief of the Industrial and Energy Minerals Bureau for the department.

The permit allows Spoklie to mine 8 acres of the 24-acre site at one time, and the previously disturbed area must be reclaimed. Gravel crushing is restricted. No gravel crushing is allowed from June 15 through Aug. 21, and from Nov. 15 through March 12.

All told, the life expectancy of the pit is 26 years. Spoklie, under an agreement with the county, had to pave a portion of Belton Stage Road — that has already been completed. A bike path from the pit to U.S. Highway 2 was also included in the agreement, though it hasn't been constructed yet.

To wash the gravel, the pit will use about 22,000 gallons of water a day when the washing operation is in place and at its peak.

The DEQ claimed that should have no impact on the nearby Middle Fork of the Flathead, as the pit is well above the river and the water table is quite high in that area. It's expected that while the plant could conceivably wash gravel 150 days a year gravel crushing and washing would probably only occur about 60 days a year on average, because of product demand. It is not expected to have an impact on the water table.

The pit has had a tumultuous history. It was originally denied by the county, because it didn't conform to the Canyon Area Land Use Regulations. But Spoklie then sued the county and it was later deemed that the pit was allowed under grandfather rules.

The county settled with Spoklie with a host of conditions, but none of those conditions actually stop the mining operation.