District to investigate home in Glacier Park for possible stream law violations

The Flathead County Conservation District will investigate a private home in Glacier National Park after more than 14 people filed complaints against the owners.

The complaints claim the home at the end of McDonald Creek Lane in Apgar violates the Montana Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act and the Montana Floodplain and Floodway Management Act.

The home, according to the complaints and public tax records, is owned by John and Stacy Ambler, of San Diego, California.

The complainants are local residents.

The Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act requires any individual or business proposing work in or near a perennial stream on private property to apply for a 310 permit through their local conservation district.

The Amblers do not currently have a 310 permit, Samantha Tappenbeck, resource conservationist with the district confirmed Friday.

The purpose of the 310 Law is to ensure that projects on perennial streams will be carried out in ways that are not damaging to the stream, its banks or adjoining properties, the law notes.

A project that would need a 310 permit is, “Any activity that results in a change in the state of a natural perennial-flowing stream or river, its bed, or its immediate banks.”

The home is built into the bank of Lower McDonald Creek and during spring runoff, would likely be just a few feet from the water itself and some of the pilings for the decks could, conceivably, be under water entirely, particularly during spring runoff.

The home is also on a bend in the stream that is slowly being eroded away by the creek.

Two supervisors from the conservation district and a representative from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are scheduled to investigate the home and meet with the Amblers on Feb. 27.

Supervisors and FWP use six main criteria to determine the possible effects of proposed projects.

They include the effects of soil erosion and sedimentation; the risk of flooding or erosion problems upstream or downstream; the effects of stream channel alterations; the impacts on stream flow, turbidity, or water quality caused by materials used or by removal of ground cover; and the effects on fish and aquatic habitat. The final consideration is whether there are reasonable alternatives which will reduce disturbance to a stream or better accomplish the purpose of the project.

The Flathead Conservation Board will the take up the matter at its next 310 meeting in March.

Penalties can run the gamut, from simply requiring the Amblers to obtain the necessary 310 permit, which is free, to mitigation requirements. In some cases, fines can be imposed and the board has the authority to have the home removed if it’s found in violation.

The Flathead County Planning Department said previously it had no jurisdiction on the home because there is no floodplain map of the area as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

With no floodplain map, there were no floodplain regulations to enforce.

FEMA said it routinely does not map floodplains on federal lands.

Private land inside Glacier Park is regulated by the county. Glacier has jurisdiction at the high water mark, superintendent David Roemer said in a recent interview.

The Ambler’s home, like the rest of the properties in Apgar, is served by Glacier Park’s sewer and water system.