Weaver informed them that he was planning a small start-up business, the Montana Artesian Water Co., that would withdraw, bottle and sell about 30 or so gallons of well water per minute — a rate consistent with most domestic uses in the area.
Weaver has stated publicly and in newspaper ads that his plant would be limited to bottling 25 to 30 gallons per minute, despite the higher ceiling for which he’s asking in his water right.
Harvey and other neighbors still worry about the impacts to their wells, however.
“Shallow groundwater is less than 8 feet from the surface year-round at the proposed project site,” they wrote.
Weaver says that would be in the neighborhood of 25 to 30 gallons per minute, consistent with his stated “maximum build-out.” The Montana Artesian Water Co. would have to re-apply for a modified discharge permit if they wanted to increase production beyond the limit in the current draft permit.
“If it were really a four-Wal-Mart-sized facility he was proposing out there, I think you probably would see an [environmental impact statemment] and they’d say ‘OK, maybe this is not an appropriate use in this area,” James says.
“Would your company have any interest in opening and operating another production plant in Montana?” Weaver wrote.
In a separate email, Weaver noted, “The building has been built with expansion in mind and has significant adjoining acrerage [sic] to accommodate this expansion.” Asked about those emails, Weaver said his intention is being misconstrued, and that they were simply part of his early business research to gauge the demand for his future product and the value of a possible plant.
Never,” Weaver says.
Flathead County’s legal department, meanwhile, has been mum on when a ballot initiative to extend the Egan Slough Zoning District to include the proposed bottling facility will be put to a county-wide vote.