Protest period extended for water permit
<p><strong>Lew Weaver</strong> plans a water-bottling plant on his farm property in Creston.</p>
The protest period for a preliminary water rights permit issued to the Montana Artesian Water Co. has been extended by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
Friday was the original deadline for objections to the water right, which would allow the proposed water bottling plant near Creston to withdraw up to 710 acre-feet of water per year.
Lew Weaver, a Creston farmer, is currently working through the permitting process to open a facility that could bottle up to 191.6 million gallons of groundwater per year.
The new objection period will not start immediately, and objections postmarked from March 12 through March 22 will not be accepted. The extension for new protests will run from March 23 through April 7.
Department spokesman John Grassy said Friday afternoon the extension was triggered by a formal request from a water rights holder in the affected area.
He acknowledged the department has received multiple objections in the past week, but still is determining whether they present valid information.
“Someone who writes in and simply says, ‘I don’t like this project’ is not a valid objection,” Grassy said. “We have to go through to determine that each person who is objecting has a water right and has a water right that could potentially be impacted.”
Objectors must complete a form and include the $25 processing fee. That form is available online at http://dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/water/water-rights/docs/forms/611.pdf
Objections should be mailed to: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, 1424 9th Ave., PO Box 201601, Helena MT 59620-1601.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Serena Baker confirmed Friday the federal agency has submitted an objection to the state.
“Because of the volume of water this project is projected to use, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Creston National Fish Hatchery is concerned that there will be injury to the hatchery’s senior water rights because of this project,” Baker said.
She declined to comment further, citing the potential for the process to proceed to water court.
The Creston hatchery owns a nearby water right that allows it to draw up to 645 acre-feet per year from the aquifer.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.