On October 30, the Opencut Mining Section at the Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit to mine gravel to Wade Moudy. The Moudy Pit Site covers 13.7 acres with 4.7 acres currently bonded for excavation purposes. The permit will allow up to 500,000 cubic yards of gravel to be removed across the 13.7 acres, although the applicant is only seeking a bond for 4.7 acres initially.
Moudy first applied for the permit in early 2017. The proposal was controversial, due primarily to concerns about the impact on groundwater in the area and Big Creek which flows nearby. There were other objections such as impacts on existing ditches in the area, increased traffic at Bell Crossing intersection and other disturbances related to the operation such as noise, etc.
During the review process, DEQ considered public comments submitted before, during and after the public meeting held in Hamilton on December 12, 2017. Based on its review of the proposal and comments, a series of deficiency letters were issued on March 16, 2018, April 25, 2019, August 14, 2019, and September 26, 2019 before finally approving the permit request on October 30.
The decision may be appealed within 30 days to the Board of Environmental Review by any person whose interests may be affected as long as they submitted comments to the Department on the application or submitted comments at the public meeting.
Anyone with questions regarding the issuance of the permit may contact the Opencut Mining Section at (406) 444-4970 or at DEQOpencut@mt.gov.
Todd Townsend seeks a permit that will allow him to take out an additional 400,000 yards of gravel on 10 adjacent acres.