Border Paving hosted an open house at Butte Hall Thursday night regarding a gravel pit proposed for near the North Raven River (Photo: rdnewsNOW/Adam Ophus)

By Adam Ophus

"why here?"

Locals share concerns over gravel pit proposed along North Raven River

Nov 29, 2019 | 2:10 PM

Emotions ran somewhat high Thursday night at an open house for a controversial gravel pit proposal.

Border Paving Ltd. is seeking to open a gravel pit near the headwaters of the North Raven River.

The company has already taken dry gravel from one of the nearby pits, once known as the Keim Pit. Now they want to begin excavating below the water line, which worries locals that it could have a negative impact on the water and fish in the river.

North Raven River is a popular location for local and international fisherman because of its pristine water and over 1,000 spawning sites for brown trout.

Thursday’s open house, which was hosted by Border Paving, was held at Butte Hall, north of Caroline in a bid to respond to the concerns. The open house was filled to capacity with citizens eager to voice their doubts about the company’s ability to avoid environmental damage.

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Alongside Border Paving officials were representatives from Hydrogeological Consultants ltd. (HCL), a Canadian-owned company specializing in groundwater and service water consulting.

Border Paving co-owner Roger Walls told attendees that they would never go through with the project if there was a chance of harming the river, and that it is only in the proposal stages at this time.

“I want to make sure that everyone realizes we have absolutely no intention of ruining a river, ruining anyone’s lives, killing fish, that is not why we’re here,” Walls explained.

As the Q&A portion of the open house got underway, residents in attendance couldn’t wait to have their burning questions answered.

“What kind of value could this project possibly bring to us… why here?” was a question brought up multiple times by concerned residents.

“We’re doing the science to make sure it’s safe to go into the water… if we bid for a job in Clearwater County and we have a gravel pit nearby, that’s less taxes spent on new roads,” responded Walls.

Residents appeared to care little for the dollars and cents aspect of the proposed pit and wanted to know more about testing and the security of the water, asking if they would continuously monitor water temperature, total dissolved solids, quality and turbidity.

Aspen Land Group consultant Lesley Foy reassured that they would monitor it all, and would take things slowly to ensure no surprises come up.

“If you have gravel pits within a few miles, why are pushing this one?” residents asked.

“We’re applying for this one because we estimate that it should have gravel for up to 30 years,” Walls answered.

HCL Consultant Roger Clissold explained that from what they’ve seen, the ground water is flowing alongside the river, not towards it.

“We don’t see the mining operation, the removal and disturbance of that gravel, creating any problems because the aquifer is going to filter that water just like it already does.”

Another burning issue among attendees at the open house was what Border Paving intends to do in the future with the water, such as leasing it to an oil and gas company for fracking, referring to a similar situation in Blackfalds.

“I can say right now, we will not sell the access to any oil and gas companies,” Walls said firmly.

Everyone in attendance was given a comment form that Border Paving stated they would be submitting with their application to Clearwater County.

Nearly everyone in attendance was united in that the only level of risk they would accept was zero percent.