Montana Department of Environmental Quality About Us Permitting & Operator Assistance Public Participation

DEQ Issues Permit for Opencut Gravel Pit Site in Lake County

  • Moira Davin
  • April 03 2023

HELENA—The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued an opencut mining permit for the 157.1-acre site, known as the Marvin Rehbein site, operated by Riverside Contracting, Inc. located on private property within the Flathead Reservation near Arlee in Lake County, Mont. The operator has met state opencut mining law requirements and has posted the corresponding reclamation bond as necessary to be issued an opencut mining permit by DEQ.

DEQ accepted public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for this permitting action during a 30-day public comment period, which is a unique circumstance for this site since it was re-permitted after the original permit expired. The re-permitting process allowed for a longer public comment and review window than is provided for under the Opencut Mining Act. Submitted public comments covered a wide variety of topics and comments related to air, water and cultural resources helped DEQ refine the analysis of those resources in the EA.

To view the permit, type #3415 into the ‘opencut #’ field on: https://searchopencutpermits.mt.gov/

Tags: Press Release and mining