Plum Creek asks for log waste landfill

Plum Creek wants to turn a former gravel pit into a landfill to dispose of its log waste.

Plum Creek Northwest Lumber Inc. has submitted a request for a conditional use permit to build the landfill near the Columbia Falls Industrial Park.

The Columbia Falls City Council is set to hold a public hearing on the request April 19. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

The company wants to build a Class III landfill to dispose of materials from its log yard. This includes bark and wood chips mixed with soil that cannot be used.

A Class III landfill is designated for material such as concrete, brick, dirt, brush and lumber.

Plum Creek already uses a similar site for disposal in the "pit to park" on the Truck Route just south of the sawmill. Once full, the site will be topped with soil and grass and then deeded to the city for a park.

Access to the new 10-acre site is planned off of Fourth Street West north of the railroad tracks. Plum Creek expects the site to be used for the next 17 years.

The permit would limit dumping to log-yard waste generated at Plum Creek here and no more than 10 loads of waste could be delivered per day to the site.

City Manager and Planning Director Bill Shaw will recommend permit approval with several conditions. Conditions include restricting operation to daylight hours Monday through Friday for delivery and any processing on site must occur between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Also, dust will be confined to the property and Plum Creek must submit a copy of its plan to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Also April 19, the City Council will consider whether to allow off-premise entrance signs on major routes into the city.

The city will request a zoning text amendment to allow one sign each on arterial entrances to the city for a "welcome" message, which excludes commercial messages. The sign face may not exceed 150 square feet or exceed 20 feet in height.

A group has shown interest in constructing such signs at the east and west ends of the city along U.S. Highway 2.