19 Sep Hot Water Topic
Flathead County residents have filed suit against the County government for failing to
enforce the Egan Slough Zoning District. On June 5, 2018 Flathead County overwhelmingly
approved an initiative to enlarge the Egan Slough Zoning District. Voters approved the measure
by a 70-30% majority, with every precinct in Flathead County voting in favor of the District.
The District, in place since 2002, is designed to protect rural property values, agriculture and
water. The Initiative added acreage to the District that includes the site of the proposed Montana
Artesian Water Company’s bottling plant. Local residents and over a hundred volunteers,
concerned about the impacts this major industrial facility would have on Flathead’s water and the
Egan Slough farming community, decided to put the matter to the voters of Flathead County.
The voters agreed that a facility that will bottle and ship up to 1.2 billion bottles of water doesn’t
belong along the Flathead River in the middle of a rural, agricultural area of the County.
The County has thus far refused to enforce the zoning laws, prompting Egan Slough
Community and Yes! For Flathead Farms and Water, two local organizations representing
property owners and Initiative proponents, to file suit. “We are at a loss to understand why the
County won’t enforce a zoning law that 70% of the voters approved,” noted Amy Waller, a long-
time resident and also a plaintiff in the suit. “We have tried to work with the County since the
Initiative passed on June 5, and they have yet to provide a clear explanation of why they won’t
enforce the law.” Another resident, Tracy Pixley, noted that “truck traffic and activity at the
plant has increased, even after the Initiative was passed. Flathead residents don’t want or deserve
the noise and pollution associated with this major facility.”
The suit alleges that no commercial activity had taken place at the time the zoning was
passed and MAWC’s facility is not “grandfathered” as a pre-existing operation. “Even the
County agrees that no commercial production had occurred when the zoning became law.”
Stated Waller.
See Flathead Beacon article Read Flathead Beacon article here