by Jacob Owens | Sat, September 14th 2024 at 4:00 PM
Updated Sat, September 14th 2024 at 11:17 PM
LOLO, Mont. — A group of Missoula County residents are suing county commissioners over approving the expansion of a gravel pit south of Lolo.
The controversy surrounds a 66-acre gravel operation between Lolo and Florence. The area is off Old Highway 93 South and McClain Creek Road, owned by the company Western Materials.
The gravel pit can now expand west following the approval of a use variance. The move is expected to increase the mined area to more than 96 acres in the coming decades.
“It was clear to me for months prior that that was going to be the result, but you have to continue to participate,” Graham Coppes, an attorney at Ferguson & Coppes, said. “The law requires you to exhaust that remedy, that local government remedy before you can seek a court’s involvement.”
Coppes’ natural resources law firm represents the Carlton Protection Trust. The trust is a nonprofit made up of residents who live near the pit.
The variance request underwent five public hearings before approval. Concerns raised by opponents included water contamination, the impact on wildlife and truck traffic on Highway 93.
In the filing, attorneys for the Carlton Protection Trust cite public comment and testimony as evidence that the variance would significantly impact residents of the zoning district, and that the variance is not in the public interest.
“My feel of it was that the county was bending over backwards to make this happen. That they were ignoring relevant evidence that showed that this is a harmful and polluting activity,” Coppes told NBC Montana.
The mine’s alleged illegal expansion over the years is another point raised in the lawsuit.
One document cited in the complaint is from the Missoula County Deputy Attorney in 2008, Michael Sehestedt. The letter states that the-then gravel pit officials applied for a permit to expand in 2001, but officials never issued the permit.
However, for several years, the pit and the Department of Environmental Quality operated as if a permit to expand had been issued.
NBC Montana reached out to Missoula County for comment. As of the morning of Sept. 10 the county had not been served, Allison Franz, the county’s communications manager, said, adding that Missoula County does not typically comment on pending litigation.
DV-32-2024-0000810-OC-Appeal-Complaint-w.-all-Exhibits-9.5.2024See more at NBC Montana.