Commissioners call for EA on Steamboat Landing subdivision following Superfund, wetlands concerns

Flathead County commissioners want environmental testing on a site proposed for a large-scale housing subdivision in Somers before considering whether to approve the project near a Superfund site.  

Commissioners on Thursday voted to table the Steamboat Landing subdivision, requiring testing of the site and returning it to the county Planning Board, which has already held several public hearings on the project. Ultimately, the commissioners would have to vote on the subdivision proposed to include about 250 residential units.   

Several neighbors of the project during public comments outlined a list of concerns related to the project. At the top were concerns about whether contamination from the former BNSF Railway tie treatment site to the south could migrate into the subdivision.   

Commissioner Pam Holmquist said that after reviewing the project and hearing comments she wants the project to go through further review.   

“I believe the [environmental assessment] provided with the application is insufficient,” she said. “There’s no mention of test wells or test pits so I think that’s something that should be looked at.”   

Commissioners asked several questions about the process of seeking additional information related to the project before recessing to meet individually with Deputy County Attorney Tara Fugina.   

During the meeting, Fugina told commissioners that as with any property development either side could challenge the outcome, but the best thing to do is to make decisions on what’s legally defensible.   

“And if there is a question, and I believe a question exists at least in the minds of some people about whether or not the environmental assessment was insufficient because it lacks any discussion of the possible migration of pollutants from the Superfund site then that can create problems in the future just in the same way as putting a condition on the face of the plat,” Fugina said. “All you can do is make the best decision based on what’s legally defensible.”   

The property to the south is owned by BNSF Railway. The area was identified as a Superfund site in 1984 due to the contamination of groundwater and soil from operations to treat wood ties. Treatment of soil and groundwater began in 1994.    

The environmental assessment for the subdivision notes that since the project will be served by Somers Water and Sewer contaminated groundwater is not a concern.    

In a letter from the Environmental Protection Agency dated Jan. 13, 2023, Roger Hoogerheide, remedial project manager, said that the proposed development is outside the Superfund site boundaries, but should the developer need access to the BNSF property to install utilities it should contact the EPA and Montana Department of Environmental Quality.   

An email exchange from June between the developer’s engineer and the EPA notes that the tie plant area has “relatively mobile contaminates underground” and contaminated groundwater is flowing west toward School Addition Road and a portion is flowing south toward Flathead Lake.   

Jennifer Tipton with the North Shore Water Alliance submitted an email exchange in which Dick Sloan, with the DEQ, says “environmental assessment for the proposed development needs to be updated to detail the actions required ensure human health and ecological protection.”  

During Thursday’s meeting, several commenters urged commissioners to consider the Superfund site’s proximity to the proposed subdivision.   

Janie Lewer characterized the Superfund site as “unstable.”   

“This subdivision intended to be a family development with children playing in the yard,” she said. “I respectfully request that you decline this for the future health of residents.”   

The Steamboat Landing project looks to develop 63.79 acres near Somers Middle School. Somers Project, LLC and Somers Property, LLC are seeking a preliminary plat for the property to develop 180 single-family homes and 72 condo units.   

The developers behind the project have argued that the property is well situated for housing and would provide needed homes for the Flathead Valley.   

Estimated completion date for the first phase is 2025, the second is 2027 and the fifth and final phase is 2033.    

Access to the lots would be from new internal subdivision roads via Sunnybrook Lane and Somers Road. Increased traffic on already busy roads has been another issue raised by neighbors.   

As an update to the original plan that went before the Planning Board in March, the developer would be required to install a northbound left-turn restriction infrastructure on School Addition Road at the intersection with Montana 82. It also required the installation of a traffic signal at Somers Road.    

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in a letter to the county also pointed out that the subdivision would increase pedestrian and vehicular traffic along an increasingly congested road accessing the agency’s Somers Beach State Park. In addition, the state agency says it would affect the wetland complex in the area that supports nesting and migratory waterfowl.