The Seeley Lake Community Council approved sending a letter to survey traffic speed by the Double Arrow Ranch, discussed potentially holding a special meeting on water quality and heard from area experts during its monthly meeting on Aug. 14.
The council heard from leaders on the Salmon Lake construction project, who informed the room that there will likely be more construction along Highway 83 next summer, and the manager of the sewer board reported an unhealthy amount of nitrate in the Seeley area.
There was also a brief update on the Clearwater RV dump station, which has $1.6 million for fixing the station, but no action has been taken by the state of Montana.
Matt Straub, project construction manager for the Montana Department of Transportation and Salmon Lake Project, said the project will likely run deep into 2024 after some redesigned sections of the road this summer. Straub said the new goal is to finish all work in the area by the Fourth of July next year.
“If we are not completed by the Fourth of July, our goal is to a point where there are no traffic delays,”
Straub said, adding that design complications have slowed the project down. “We figure by the end of this construction season we will have four months of work left.”
This fall, the weather-critical sections should be completed, and asphalt will be placed on most of the project. Straub said the design issues come from errors in surveying the area, as the project is getting designed in places the same time it is being built.
Some members of the public brought concerns of law enforcement or other emergency services making it through the construction. Straub said law enforcement can communicate with the traffic authority to clear the road for emergencies.
Straub also added there is another design-to-build project in the works from the north end of Salmon Lake through the Double Arrow Lodge, but no timeline is available for it at the time.
Speed reduction
The council also addressed a potential speed limit reduction from milepost 10 to Seeley Lake on Highway 83. Council Chair Tom Browder cited two times in the area when there were serious crashes on the road because of the speed of travel and cars turning onto the highway from Wagon Wheel Road.
“Last year, someone was driving south on 83 pulling a fifth wheel, and someone was making a left turn into Double Arrow, obviously going too fast, maybe texting, and they went off into the ditch to the right,” Browder said.
The council will draft a letter to Shane Stack, the head of public works at Missoula County, to ask for a speed study from the Montana Department of Transportation. Stack told Browder the county could drop the speed limit to 45 miles per hour from Cory’s to Placid Lake.
There are plenty of other options for the area, including making a no passing zone near the Double Arrow Ranch and implementing signage telling motorists how fast they are going. Much of those projects need grants.
Clearwater Dump Station
Garry Swain said the $1.6 million from the legislature for redoing the RV dump at Clearwater Junction is ready, but no action has been taken to start the project. Montana Department of Transportation is planning to make a complete redo of the rest stop and add a roundabout.
The only other public dump station is at Lindey’s Prime Steakhouse. Swain said the money for Clearwater Junction is there, but it has been shifting. First, the money rested with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, then MDT and then the state administration department.
“I am not sure where the $1.6 million is, but it is earmarked for that project,” Swain said.
Water Quality
Other speakers in the meeting touched on water quality, which testing showed both clean and healthy areas and places of concern.
In November 2022, Sewer District Manager Bill Decker said the Seeley Lake Sewer District installed 12 new monitoring wells. The wells are supposed to monitor for nitrates — chemicals that appear from septic systems.
“Nitrates are found naturally in groundwater in low amounts, anything more than three milligrams per liter suggests there’s something else going on that makes it higher,” Decker said.
The Environmental Protection Agency safe drinking water standard for nitrates is 10 milligrams per liter.
Five of the wells showed no groundwater during the first drilling. In July, 10 wells had enough water to take samples. While almost half of the wells showed natural amounts of nitrates, one well on Spruce Street showed nitrate levels above the EPA standards for safe drinking water.
Dave Torrel, executive director of Clearwater Resource Council, said after studying the chain of lakes for concerns over nitrates, Big Sky Lake has shown the most concerning amounts of pollution.
Other lakes showed levels of nitrates, but at lower levels. Torrel said Alva has historically been the cleanest.
There is potential that the Seeley Community Council could host a symposium on water quality. Browder said the council would try to get a state hydrologist from Helena to give an expert opinion on the water.
Gayla Nicholson, a member of Protect the Clearwater, gave an update on the Elbow Lake gravel pit, and informed the public that the request through the court to stop the mine will halt any action until the Montana Board of Environmental Review reviews the decision.
“Our attorneys tell us that this is a milestone decision,” Nicholson said. “Judge John Larson is the longest serving district court judge in the state of Montana, and he went above and beyond on what we asked to protect the environment and the wildlife.”
Protect the Clearwater will appear before the Montana Board of Environmental Review later this fall, and will return to district court on Aug. 29 to discuss any potential bonds for the decision. The Montana Board of Environmental Review could throw out the permit, restart the process or reverse the decision of Judge Larson.
Missoula County has also requested a “vision meeting” with residents of the area to see what people need. The meeting would happen at the Barn, and would be a special meeting outside of the normal council meetings.
There is also a Lolo Plan Revision meeting with the Forest Service on Sept. 13, but Bowder said that date could change with other meetings happening around the same time. More topics that could come up at the next Seeley Community Council include Highway 83, the Bridge on Boy Scout Road, the Sewer and Holland Lake Lodge.
The council will meet next on Sept. 18.
Reader Comments(0)