Club opts to pay $31,000 more than fined

BOZEMAN – The Yellowstone Mountain Club chose to pay $31,000 more than its set penalty of $200,000 when given a list of environmental projects to support, including a $200,000 Environmental Impact Statement.

The club was fined for allegedly violating state water law during construction of a golf course, roads and ski runs at the members-only club owned by Tim Blixseth. The club has admitted to no liability, but agreed to the payment.

The Department of Environmental Quality calculated a penalty of $200,000, which would normally go directly to the state’s general fund. However, state law allows alleged violators to pay for specific projects approved by the DEQ.

The DEQ gave the club a list of projects, said John Arrigo, administrator of the DEQ’s enforcement division. The club chose to pay for a $155,000 glass pulverizer and a $76,000 cash penalty, opting not to choose the EIS that was on the list of projects.

The glass pulverizer is portable, allowing it to travel around the state and convert waste glass into material usable in asphalt paving, landscaping and other projects. It will help keep landfills from filling up as quickly, Arrigo said.

Rep. Chris Harris, D-Bozeman, said he wanted the club to pay for the EIS on the upper Gallatin River.

“It makes absolute perfect sense to have the EIS funded,” he said.

The EIS would examine, among other things, the relationship between groundwater and surface water in the upper Gallatin. The Montana Board of Environmental Review mandated the study as part of the process of designating the Gallatin as “Outstanding Resource Water.”

But no money was ever set aside to pay for the $200,000 EIS, so the area cannot receive the special status.