Carbon County Finds Rough Waters with Debris Removal Limitations
On June 7, 2023, at 4:00 p.m. Carbon County released the following statement:
Over the last few months, the Montana Disaster and Emergency Services (MT DES) Woody Debris Removal Project has been in full swing in multiple areas of Carbon County removing debris that was deposited in rivers throughout the county during the unprecedented floods of June 2022. MT DES is overseeing the woody debris removal project in Carbon County as well as Stillwater, Park, and Yellowstone Counties and has to complete the full permitting process just like property owners who want to do work in or around the rivers. Roughly eleven projects in Carbon County had received approval from the Army Corp of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Carbon County Floodplain Administrator, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). The project is funded through FEMA’s Public Assistance program which follows statutes, executive orders, regulations, and policies that set the eligibility requirements for reimbursement of project costs.
A majority of the Carbon County debris removal work that was already approved by all regulatory offices mentioned above has been completed. On June 16, 2023, FWP suspended their issued permit, stopping further work of debris removal until each identified site was reevaluated for potential impacts to fish habitat and water quality. All permitting agencies performed site inspections prior to the project starting, and it appeared the scope of work permitted was understood by all. Now two months into the project, after contracts have been executed and contractors have mobilized, FWP has decided to halt work and change their permits because they didn’t do their homework. As stated by Carbon County Commissioner Bill Bullock of the Red Lodge District, “for what appears to be an arbitrary decision, based solely on ideological and personal interest, the work was halted. This has cost tremendous amounts of money that cannot be reimbursed.”
Carbon County officials met with representatives from FWP and MT DES on Wednesday, June 28, to inspect the FWP 124 permit suspended debris sites in the county that had already been approved by all regulatory agencies. County representatives included Commissioner Bullock and County DES Emergency Manager, Cyrina Allen. “We have been to these sites over and over, and over again with the permitting agencies, State DES, FEMA, contractors, and monitors. The purpose of this project is to remove debris that had been identified as hazardous,
Above and below are images provided by Carbon County showing the same site at 25 Granite Road in Joliet on June 6 and on June 28 of this year, showing that large woody debris is moving through Carbon County waterways
posing a risk to infrastructure, public health and safety. It’s incredibly unfortunate that one permitting agency all of a sudden can’t see the hazard, and they have the ability to stop it all,” commented Allen.
County officials strongly feel the remaining debris in the removal projects pose a threat to life, property, and infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water and sewer facilities, and that FWP is disregarding these safety concerns. FWP’s response is that woody debris is beneficial for fish habitat and bank stabilization, and that most of the debris will not move in high water events. This argument is counter to one of the recent proposed changes in their permits which would require a significant increase in river access points to remove the debris by limiting the distance that equipment can travel in the river to 500 feet. Carbon County DES has gathered pictures of multiple debris areas over these last few weeks of high water, with photos that prove the debris is moving. Allen continued, “I find it frustrating that FWP is solely focused on fish habitat and cannot see the big picture in what the Montana DES debris removal project is trying to achieve. I understand how important bank stabilization and strong fish habitats are, but it’s my job to help protect life, property, and infrastructure. How can I fulfill my job duties when there are roadblocks around every corner?”
The Carbon County Commissioners are frustrated with the outcome of flood debris removal work in the county being put on hold, and feel public safety and the integrity of the county’s infrastructure will be at risk if these remaining debris removal projects are not completed to the extent requested in the application. In Rock Creek, the amount of actual river distance being cleaned up compared to the full length of the waterway is minimal. Cyrina Allen summed it up as “FWP is willing to permit a very minimal number of trees from the identified sites, but we feel there is much more debris that should be removed in order to protect public safety and infrastructure. Recently FWP made a statement regarding how the rivers are completely different now post-flood and that recreationist have a whole new river to explore. That’s great and exciting! But meanwhile, let’s work together to make a collaborative plan to clean out the hazardous debris, leave the good debris, and let our locals and visitors explore the beautiful rivers we have in Montana. That would be a win-win for the taxpayers and the fish.”
According to Commissioner Bullock, “We’re trying to do the work that will protect our roads, bridges, essential infrastructure, and most importantly our constituents into the future. To look at a large pile of debris in the river and know the potential damage that amount of woody debris could inflict on our county resources and residents during the next highwater event – only to have the work stopped by an agency that seems to have no concern for human safety or crucial infrastructure whatsoever is irresponsible and reckless.”
When asked if there is anything that could be done to help move these projects forward in a way Bullock feels will best protect public safety and infrastructure, Bullock commented “Yes. Hope and pray we don’t get any heavy rain, snow runoff or that the damn dam does not burst in the future. We were provided with the opportunity to set ourselves up better for the next disastrous event, and FWP doesn’t feel that preparation is necessary.”
The Carbon County Commissioners have been in contact with Governor’s Office looking for an answer as to why State Agencies continue to fight against each other, and to why normal day-to-day policies and procedures are used in emergency or disaster response and recovery. The Red Tape Relief Project was supposed to help alleviate the issues that are being seen with the permitting of debris removal, and in Carbon County it seemed like that was starting to happen, until June 16 of 2023...one year to the day President Biden signed the disaster declaration for June 2022 flooding. Commissioner Scott Blain of the Joliet District adds, “it took numerous meetings to get all the Federal, State, and Local agencies to agree and permit all of this work. Work that hasn’t been done to this extent in decades. We managed to cut through the red tape initially only to be disappointed. It’s foolish to let all of that coordination and effort be put aside because one agency decided late in the game to change their mind.”
Mike Ruggles, Region 5 Supervisor for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), explained his agency’s position, “So that’s not entirely accurate. What we did is they (MT DES) had a permit that they applied for that had sites in Carbon, Park, Stillwater and Yellowstone counties. And there were some pieces in there that were completely filled out which was really good and other pieces that weren’t, making the permit a bit loose as they were developing the plan. So, as they implemented the plan we recognized, probably a little too late in some cases, that trees are considered debris when you're talking about cleanup crews that clean up after hurricanes and that kind of stuff where they have downed power lines that block all the roads. And when you have these contractors that show up that look at every tree as debris rather than habitat that, I think, created some openings for some miscommunications. So what we ended up doing is, after we got calls from quite a few folks that they were cleaning
Below are photos provided by FWP showing the same site before the 2022 flood event and after debris removal, displaying the ample woody debris available for habitat before the flooding and the lack of it afterward
up the river and there was no habitat left, that they had removed every tree, and after at one point being informed that the only safe tree was a tree that was cabled to the bank, we recognized we were at a point where we needed to kind of change the way that we were proceeding, so we moved to a site-by-site case. We've had staff meetings with MT DES on nearly a daily basis (there have been some days when they have not had the calls) to talk about where they're headed and planning for any additional site visits, visits that we'd kind of hoped the initial permit would have saved us from. But after some of those permit areas had been worked on, it was clear that we just needed to invest a bit more time. So, it wasn't a stop. It was a change in the process, basically, and so here we are now.”
Carbon County states that concerns and issues with FWP debris removal limitations in Carbon County can be directed to the Region 5 Headquarters in Billings at 406-247-2940 or fwprg52@mt.gov.