HomeMy WebLinkAbout12- Amicus Brief BMW w exhibits.pdfGregory S. Sullivan
BOZEMAN CITY ATTORNEY
P.O. Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771 -1230
Tel: (406) 582 -2309
Fax: (406) 582 -2302
gsullivan@bozeman.net
Attorney for the City of Bozeman, Montana
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
MISSOULA DIVISION
ALLIANCE FOR THE WILD
ROCKIES &
NATIVE ECOSYSTEM COUNCIL,
Plaintiffs,
VS.
FAYE KRUEGER,
Regional Forester of Region One
Of the Forest Service,
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE, FOREST
SERVICE, UNITED STATES FISH
AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, an
Agency of the US Department of
The Interior,
Defendants
Case No.: CV- 12- 55 -M -DLC
BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE
CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA
Brief ofAmicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 1
Having been granted leave by the Court, the City of Bozeman, Montana,
hereby submits this Brief ofAmicus Curiae.
I. Introduction.
One of the most critical services the City of Bozeman (City) provides to its
residents, businesses, and civic institutions is the provision of adequate and safe
potable water.
Through this Brief the City will provide information that: (i) illustrates the
City's legal duty to provide water; (ii) demonstrates these watersheds are its
primary source of water; (iii) establishes that real threats to these watersheds exist
potentially impacting the City's ability to provide water; and (iv) documents the
City's recent significant efforts to plan for water. In addition, the City will discuss
the Plaintiffs haphazard attempt to use to their advantage the current investments to
the City's Sourdough Water Treatment Plant (SWTP). Finally, the City will put all
of the above into context of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. §
6501(1)) ( "HFRA ") to demonstrate the Defendants have exceeded their burden
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. § 4331, et seq.).
Essentially, the City encourages the Court to consider the information
provided herein and the Defendant's NEPA evaluation in context of the HFRA and
decide in favor of the Defendants.
Brief ofAmicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 2
II. The City has a legal duty to provide water to its residents,
businesses, and civic institutions.
The investments the City has made over time and the partnership with the
Gallatin National Forest (GNF) are vital steps the City has taken to fulfill its
obligations to the community. It is obvious then, that the City's interest in the
Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project (BMW Project) is grounded in the obvious
concept that because the City has taken on the responsibility to provide water for
consumption and fire protection to its residents, businesses, and institutions, the
City has a legal duty to take necessary and reasonable steps to ensure the water it
provides is both adequate in volume and safe. See, e.g., Mont. Code Ann. § 7 -13-
4402 (2011) ( "The city or town council has power to adopt, enter into, and carry
out means for securing a supply of water for the use of a city or town or its
inhabitants "); Mont. Code Ann. § 7- 13- 4406(1)(c) ( "(1) Cities and towns have
jurisdiction and control: (c) over the source of streams from which water is taken
for the enforcement of its sanitary ordinances, the abatement of nuisances, and the
general preservation of the purity of its water supply ") (emphasis added); and
Mont. Code Ann. § 75 -6 -101 ( "It is the public policy of this state to protect,
maintain, and improve the quality and potability of water for public water supplies
and domestic uses ").
Brief ofAmim Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 3
Moreover, the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. § 300(f) et seq.), as
enforced by the State of Montana, places strict standards on the quality of potable
water. See Mont. Code Ann. § 75 -6 -101 et seq.
These Montana statutes, when read together, clearly demonstrate the City's
duty under the law to take proactive steps to protect its source water supply in the
Sourdough and Hyalite watersheds.
III. Hyalite and Sourdough Creeks have been and will continue to be
the City's primary source of water.
Sourdough Creek (aka "Bozeman Creek ") and Hyalite Creek lie to the south
of the City in the northern end of the Gallatin Range. BMW - 0000084. The vast
majority of both watersheds are in federal ownership; the City, however, owns
4,000 acres scattered throughout ten sections of land in a checkerboard pattern
within the Sourdough Creek watershed. Id.; Amicus Exhibit 1, Declaration of Craig
Woolard, ¶16. Collectively, these watersheds provide approximately 80% of the
source water for the City's municipal water system. BMW- 0000006; BMW-
0019160. The City's remaining water source is located on the City's north side in
the Bridger Mountains. Amicus Exhibit 1, Declaration of Craig Woolard, ¶7.
The significant investments the City has made over time in water collection,
storage, and treatment in Sourdough and Hyalite indicates these watersheds have
been, are, and will be critical sources of water for the City for decades to come. In
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 4
fact, the City first began collecting and treating water from Sourdough Creek in
1917 (Amicus Exhibit 1, Declaration of Craig Woolard, ¶8) and from Hyalite
Creek in the mid 1950s. Id. Over time, the City has invested in excess of
$55,000,000.00 of tax and ratepayer dollars in infrastructure to collect and treat
water sourcing in these watersheds. Id., 19.
Moreover, over the last 20 years the City has invested upwards of a total of
$2,000,000.00 in securing and protecting water rights in the Sourdough watershed
and water shares in the Montana Department of Natural Resources and
Conservation's Hyalite Dam project. Id.
Finally, the City is in the process of conducting an Integrated Water
Resource Plan (IWRP) the purpose of which is to explore, evaluate, and prioritize
the range of alternatives available to address anticipated water supply challenges
for the City. Id., ¶10. The IWRP, in conjunction with the historic use of these
watersheds and the investments the City has made clearly demonstrate the City
intends these watersheds to be a primary source of the City's water, and a primary
factor in ensuring the City's economic vitality, for decades. Id., 110.
IV. Real threats exist to the City of Bozeman's Sourdough Water
Treatment Plant.
On Tuesday, August 28, 2012 the Millie Fire started from a lightning strike
in the Storm Castle Creek drainage, an east to west running drainage in the
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 5
northern Gallatin Range less than 20 miles south of the City. Id., ¶13. The upper
eastern reaches of the Storm Castle drainage share several miles of a subalpine
ridge with the Hyalite Creek watershed. Before it was over this past fall, the Millie
Fire burned 10,515 acres including lands adjacent to the boundary of the Hyalite
Creek watershed. Id., ¶14.; See Amicus Exhibit 2 (illustrating the relationship
between the Millie Fire's perimeter and the Hyalite and Sourdough watersheds).
It is clear that runoff from fires such as the Millie can have a detrimental
effect on the City's ability to treat source water. See Amicus Exhibit 3, Declaration
of Dan Harmon, ¶¶ 10 - 17. This fire, so close to the City's watersheds,
demonstrates the critical nature of the Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project.
V. The City's effort to address the buildup of hazardous fuels in
Sourdough and Hyalite watersheds involvement began in 2003
and continues today.
In 2004, the City, concerned about increasing population growth and
changing forest conditions in the Hyalite and Sourdough watersheds, completed a
Source Water Protection Plan (Plan) for the Sourdough and Hyalite watersheds.
Amicus Exhibit 1, Declaration of Craig Woolard, ¶ 11. The most important and
useful finding of the Plan was clear identification of the severity of the risk posed
by wildfire in the Sourdough and Hyalite watersheds. Id. The Plan determined
rainfall - runoff in the watersheds will result in heavy sediment loads that could not
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 6
be treated by the City's then existing water treatment plant. Id. The Plan
determined the times of heavy runoff could last from a few days to weeks, and for
several years following a major fire event the City would be incapable of meeting
water demand, resulting in a serious water supply crisis. Id. The Plan called for the
City to take proactive steps to protect these source watersheds. Id.
It was this Plan that prompted the City to step up its efforts to work with the
GNF to develop a 2005 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). BMW- 0001602;
BMW- 0001700. The purpose of the MOU, which was updated by the City and
GNF in 2011, is to "document the cooperation between the [City and GNF] to
maintain (in the long term) a high - quality predictable water supply for Bozeman
through cooperative efforts in implementing sustainable land management
practices. Id. The City and GNF agreed upon numerous objectives, including:
Id.
• Implementing vegetation management projects that will begin to
reduce the severity and extent of wildland fires in the Bozeman and
Hyalite Municipal Watersheds; and
• Focusing on treatments that will begin to reduce the risk of excess
sediment and ash reaching the municipal water treatment plant in the
event of a severe wildland fire.
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 7
The BMW Project arose out of the 2005 MOU.
In addition to the effort to work with the GNF, the City recognizes it has an
obligation to address hazardous fuels on its own lands in the Sourdough watershed
and has taken proactive steps to do so. The City owns approximately 4,000 acres
scattered throughout ten sections of land within the Sourdough watershed (BMW-
0021829) which will be managed in conjunction with the BWM Project. BMW-
0021834. Should the BMW Project move forward, the City will seek to contract
for the management of its lands in conjunction with the GNF's process. Amicus
Exhibit 1, Declaration of Craig Woolard, ¶ 16.
VI. The Capacity of the Sourdough Water Treatment Plant to handle
wildfire impacted water is not unlimited.
The capacity of the SWTP is to handle wildfire impacted water is not
unlimited. It is true the City has taken significant steps on its own to ensure the
SWTP can adequately process water substantially affected by runoff from wildfire;
however, the improvements the City is constructing have limitations.
Plaintiffs assert through the Declaration of Steve Kelly that "the risk of harm
to the Defendants and the City is low" as there is "new information that would lend
even less credibility to the defendants' argument." Decl. of Steve Kelly, Pl.'s Mot.
for S.J., Ex. 2, ¶ 9. This is a remarkably uninformed statement. The Plaintiff's rely
solely upon a newspaper item that alleges to have quoted the SWTP's
Brief ofAmicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 8
Superintendant regarding the ability of the SWTP to handle sediment from a
wildfire. The proposition that the City would rely solely on the BMW Project to
address increased sediment loads coming into the SWTP due to wildfire is nothing
less than absurd. See BMW - 0000025.
Here's what's occurred: In 2011, the City began construction on a $43
million project to make significant improvements to the SWTP. Obviously,
engineering and financial planning had been underway for years prior. The City
contracted with two engineering firms, HDR, Inc. and Morrison - Maierle, Inc., to
design and oversee the construction of these improvements. According to Dan
Harmon, the principal design engineer of the SWTP's pretreatment facilities, a
primary criterion of the design is to address the potentially severe decrease in
source water quality caused by a wildfire. Amicus Exhibit 3, Declaration of Dan
Harmon, ¶6.
Contrary to the Plaintiff's assertion, the SWTP simply will not be able to
process an unlimited nature of degraded source waters. See Id. at 115. While the
SWTP has been designed to handle significant degradations to its source water
quality there is a very real possibility the plant could actually shut down during
periods when it receives highly degraded water. Id., 113. As such, it is clear the
Plaintiffs' claim the BWM Project is unnecessary because of the City's investment
in the SWTP is at best uneducated and at worst irresponsible.
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 9
VII. This Court should consider the Healthy Forest Restoration Act in
its evaluation of whether the Defendants complied with NEPA.
The City encourages the Court to consider the Defendant's NEPA evaluation
in context of the HFRA and the above discussions. The underlying basis for the
BMW Project, the reduction of hazardous fuels to protect the City's potable water
supply, is critical to a determination of this Court as to whether the Defendants
have taken a sufficient "hard look" at the relevant factors under NEPA. This notion
is supported by the importance Congress placed on protecting municipal
watersheds from wildfire when it adopted the HFRA.
In 2002, on the heal of a succession of devastating fire seasons in the
western United States, President George W. Bush issued the Healthy Forests
Initiative (HFI) which, in part, directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the
U.S. Department of the Interior, "to improve regulatory processes to ensure more
timely decisions, greater efficiency, and better results in reducing the risk of
catastrophic wildfires by restoring forest health." Eric E. Huboer, Environmental
Litigation and The Healthy Forests Initiative, 29 Vt.L.Rev.797, 799 (Spring 2005)
(citing, The White House, Healthy Forests: An Initiative for Wildfire Prevention
and Stronger Communities (2002)).
A key piece of the HFI was the HFRA, a primary purpose of which is to
reduce wildfire risk to communities, municipal water supplies, and other at -risk
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 10
federal land through collaborative planning, prioritizing, and implementing
hazardous fuel reduction projects. 16 U.S.C. §6501(1). Additionally, and critically
for purposes of this case, a stated purpose of the HFRA is to enhance efforts to
protect watersheds such as Sourdough and Hyalite. 16 U.S.C. § 6501(3).
That the HFRA requires compliance with NEPA is not disputed (16 U.S.C. §
6514(a)(1)); yet, the HFRA clearly authorizes federal agencies to treat hazardous
fuel reduction projects differently if those projects occur in a designated wildland-
urban interface area (WUI). 16 U.S.C. § 6514(d). While it could have adopted an
alternative review procedure for the entire BMW Project' (both watersheds lie
completely within the Gallatin County WUI (BMW — 0001420)) the GNF
conducted a customary NEPA analysis. See generally BWM — 0000090; Amicus
Exhibit 1, Declaration of Craig Woolard, ¶ 15. The City believes this customary
analysis provides a greater level of effort under NEPA than what HFRA would
otherwise require. See 16 U.S.C. § 6514(d) (authorizing a limited range of
alternative actions). The City believes this concept is critical to the Court's
evaluation of the Defendants actions.
At this time, case law on the application of HFRA's underlying policy and
the application of alternative review procedures in relation to NEPA is limited. The
1 As a preliminary
matter,
while the BMW Project is
not
a designated project under
HFRA it is clear the BMW
Project
was done in compliance with
the
HFRA. BMW — 0000085.
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 11
City has not identified any authority regarding the application of the HFRA's
purpose statements in context of a Court's judicial review of an agency's NEPA
process. The City notes, however, that this Court may rely on legislatively adopted
purpose statements, such as those found at 16 U.S.C. §6501(1)5 (3), as law to assist
in its judicial review of this case. See Sierra Club v. Yodel, 911 F.2d, 1405, 1413
(10`h Cir. 1990).
It is also clear that the Ninth Circuit has recognized the HFRA and the
importance of its policy statements. Cf.. Wildwest Institute v. Bull, 547 F.3d 1162,
1165 (9`h Cir. 2008) (evaluating the Middle East Fork Hazardous Fuels Reduction
Project, a HFRA project, on the Bitterroot National Forest).
In Bull, the Ninth Circuit recognized,
"The Healthy Forests Restoration Act ("HFRA"), 16 U.S.C. §§
6501 et seq., directs the Forest Service to take action to "reduce
wildfire risk" and "enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address
threats to forest and rangeland health." Id. § 6501(1), (3). Specifically,
the Forest Service is required "[a]s soon as practicable" to implement
an "authorized hazardous fuel reduction project[ ]" on federal land
where "the existence of an epidemic of disease or insects, or the
presence of such an epidemic on immediately adjacent land and the
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 12
imminent risk it will spread, poses a significant threat to an ecosystem
component, or forest or rangeland resource. Id. § 6512(a)(4)."
Id.. 547 F.3d at 1165.
Given the above, the City requests the Court consider two factors in its
evaluation of the Defendants' actions. First, the City requests the Court consider
the HFRA's purposes as stated in 16 U.S.C. §6501(1), (3) when it evaluates the
Defendant's actions under NEPA. This analysis should necessarily include the
importance of these watersheds to the vitality of the City. Second, this Court can
consider that the GNF conducted a level of NEPA review for the BMW Project
greater than the HFRA would require.
The BMW Project is compatible with the HFRA, and the City urges the
Court to consider the spirit, purpose and compliance with this legislation as it
considers the matters before it.
VIII. Conclusion.
In the 2005, pursuant to the MOU the GNF pledged its support to
responsibly and cooperatively reduce hazardous fuels on the federal land within the
City's watersheds. Furthermore, the GNF has heeded the call of the City for action
and by doing so have heeded the call of Congress to prioritize and actively address
the dangers that face communities such as Bozeman.
Brief of Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 13
As such, the City respectfully requests this Court deny the Plaintiff's motion
for summary judgment as well as deny the Plaintiff's remedy of injunctive relief.
Submitted the 7th day of December, 2012
/s/ Gregory S. Sullivan
Bozeman City Attorney
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
Pursuant to Local Rule 7.1(d)(2)(E) the above brief is proportionally spaced, has a
typeface of 14 points and contains 2,747 words excluding caption as determined
using a word - processing system.
/s/ Gregory S. Sullivan
Bozeman City Attorney
Brief ofAmicus Curiae City of Bozeman, Montana
Page 14
Gregory S. Sullivan
BOZEMAN CITY ATTORNEY
P.O. Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771 -1230
Tel: (406) 582 -2309
Fax: (406) 582 -2302
gsullivan @bozeman.net
Attorney for Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, MT
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
MISSOULA DIVISION
ALLIANCE FOR THE WILD )
ROCKIES & )
NATIVE ECOSYSTEM COUNCIL, )
Plaintiffs, )
VS. )
FAYE KRUEGER, et al., )
Defendants )
Case No.: CV- 12- 55 -M -DLC
DECLARATION OF CRAIG
WOOLARD, Ph.D.,P.E.
AMIWE) ExPIE517 J�
DECLARATION OF CRAIG WOOLARD
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I, Craig Woolard, declare under penalty of
perjury that the following is true and correct:
1. I am a resident of Bozeman, Montana.
2. I am 1989 graduate of Montana State University's College of Engineering
and in 1993 I received a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame's
Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences. I am currently a
registered professional engineer under the laws of the State of Alaska.
3. I am employed as the Director of Public Works for the City of Bozeman. My
duties include supervision and oversight of the City's Water Treatment Plant
Division which operates the Sourdough Water Treatment Plant (SWTP). I
also am responsible for general oversight of the improvements currently
being constructed at the SWTP. Prior to my employment with the City of
Bozeman I served six years as the Treatment Division Director of the
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility and one year as General Manager
of that organization.
4. In 2010, I served as President of the American Water Works Association,
the world's largest scientific professional organization devoted to the
delivery of safe drinking water. AWWA has over 54,000 members.
DECLARATION OF CRAIG WOOLARD
2
5. From 1994 -2006, I served as Professor of civil engineering at the University
of Alaska's (Anchorage) School of Engineering where I conducted research
into water and wastewater treatment operations.
6. Based on my education and experience I reviewed the design for the SWTP
and have concluded the improvements being constructed at the SWTP have
been designed to increase the plant's overall efficiency, to provide for
increased treatment capacity, and to improve the ability of the SWTP to
handle elevated sediment loading occurring in Sourdough and Hyalite creeks
caused by wildfire.
7. The City collects water from both Sourdough (aka "Bozeman ") Creek and
Hyalite Creek for distribution to the SWTP. These watersheds provide
approximately 80% of the City's source water for the SWTP. The City also
operates the Lyman Creek water source on the City's north side in the
Bridger Mountains.
8. The City first began collecting and treating water from Sourdough Creek in
1917. The City first began collecting water from Hyalite Creek in the mid
1950s.
9. Over time, the City has invested in excess of $55,000,000.00 of its citizens'
tax and ratepayer dollars in infrastructure to collect and process water from
these watersheds. In addition, the City has invested upwards of a total of
DECLARATION OF CRAIG WOOLARD
3
$2,000,000.00 in securing and protecting water rights in the Sourdough
watershed and water shares in the Montana Department of Natural
Resources and Conservation's Hyalite Dam project in the last 20 years.
10.The City is currently in the process of conducting an Integrated Water
Resource Plan (IWRP) the purpose of which is to explore, evaluate, and
prioritize the range of alternatives available to address anticipated water
supply challenges for the City. The IWRP, in conjunction with the historic
use of these watersheds and the investments the City has made, clearly
demonstrate the City intends these watersheds to be a primary source of the
City's water, and a primary factor in ensuring the City's economic vitality,
for decades.
II.The first studies I am aware of which discussed the need to address
hazardous fuel conditions in the Sourdough and Hyalite watersheds occurred
in 1980. Overtime, the city has been monitoring hazardous fuel conditions in
these watersheds. Recently, in 2004, the City, concerned about its rapidly
accelerating population growth and changing forest conditions in the Hyalite
and Sourdough watersheds, completed a Source Water Protection Plan
(Plan) for the watersheds. The most important and useful finding of the Plan
was clear identification of the severity of the risk posed by wildfire. The
Plan determined rainfall - runoff in the watersheds will result in heavy
DECLARATION OF CRAIG WOOLARD
4
sediment loads that cannot be treated by the City's then existing water
treatment plant. The Plan determined the times of heavy runoff could last
from a few days to weeks, and for several years following a major fire event
the City would be incapable of meeting water demand, resulting in a serious
water supply crisis. The Plan called for the City to take proactive steps to
protect these source watersheds.
12.In 2011 the City began construction of significant improvements to the
SWTP after years of engineering and financial planning.
13.On Tuesday, August 28, 2012 the Millie Fire started from a lightning strike
in the Storm Castle Creek drainage, an east to west running drainage in the
northern Gallatin Range less than 20 miles south of the City.
14.The upper eastern reaches of the Storm Castle drainage share several miles
of a subalpine ridge with the Hyalite Creek watershed. Before it was over
this past fall, the Millie Fire burned 10,515 acres including and burned forest
up to the boundary of the Hyalite Creek watershed.
15.Based on my qualifications and experience, I am familiar with the
environmental review procedures of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and have reviewed the Record of Decision, Environmental Impact
Statement, and the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the
Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project (BWM Project). It is my opinion the
DECLARATION OF CRAIG WOOLARD
5
NEPA process the Gallatin National Forest adhered to for the BMW Project
followed the customary and standard process.
16.The City owns approximately 4,000 acres scattered through ten sections of
land in a checkerboard pattern within the Sourdough watershed. In 2010
Peck Forestry, Inc. on behalf of the City completed a forest management
plan for these lands which calls for managing these lands for the primary
purpose of reducing the risk for severe wildfire to protect source water
quality. Should the BMW Project move forward, the City will seek to
contract for the management of its lands in conjunction with the GNF's
process.
17.As Public Works Director for the City is it my responsibility to ensure the
adequate and safe provision of potable water to the City's residents,
businesses, and institutions.
EXECUTED ON this 5t" day of December, 2012 in Missoula, Montana.
Z
Crai oolard, Ph.D, P.E.,
City of Bozeman Public Works Director
DECLARATION OF CRAIG WOOLARD
6
Gregory S. Sullivan
BOZEMAN CITY ATTORNEY
P.O. Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771 -1230
Tel: (406) 582 -2309
Fax: (406) 582 -2302
gsullivan@bozeman.net
Attorney for Amicus Curiae City of Bozeman, MT
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
MISSOULA DIVISION
ALLIANCE FOR THE WILD )
ROCKIES & )
NATIVE ECOSYSTEM COUNCIL, )
Plaintiffs, )
VS. )
FAYE KRUEGER, et al., )
Defendants )
Case No.: CV- 12- 55 -M -DLC
DECLARATION OF DAN
HARMON, P.E.
AMiCU Ix41b«" 3
Declaration of Dan Harmon
1
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I, Dan Harmon, declare under penalty of
perjury that the following is true and correct:
1. I am a resident of Hamilton, Montana.
2. I am 1984 graduate of Montana State University and have been a
professional engineer for 28 years. Currently, I am licensed as an engineer
under the laws of the States of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
3. I am employed as a professional engineer by HDR, Inc., at offices located at
1715 South Reserve, Suite C, Missoula, Montana. HDR, Inc. is HDR, Inc. is
a global employee -owned firm founded in 1917 to provide architecture,
engineering, consulting, construction and related services throughout
Montana, North America and the world.
4. I have experience designing and overseeing construction of municipal water
treatment facilities throughout Montana and the Northwestern United States,
5. HDR, Inc. was contracted by the City of Bozeman (City) to design and
oversee construction of improvements to the City's Sourdough Water
Treatment Plant located at 7022 Sourdough Canyon Road, Bozeman,
Montana. I am the principal engineer for the design and construction of these
improvements.
6. The improvements being constructed at the Sourdough Water Treatment
Plan (SWTP) have been designed to increase the plant's overall efficiency,
Declaration of Dan Harmon
2
to provide for increased treatment capacity, and to improve the ability of the
SWTP to handle elevated sediment loading occurring in Sourdough and
Hyalite creeks caused by wildfire.
7. The improvements include pretreatment procedures designed to remove
debris and sediment with final filtration of preliminarily treated water
occurring through the use of a membrane filtration system. I designed the
pretreatment system using published industry standard performance
parameters in conjunction with historic water quality data and in compliance
with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's Design Circular
DEQ -1: Design Standards for Water Works.
8. Information from scientific literature on forest fire impacts to surface water
indicates that immediate changes to water quality occur after a wildfire and
are significant in both magnitude and consequences for water treatment.
These changes include increases in sediment and turbidity, changes to pH,
and increases to phosphorous, cyanide, ammonium, nitrates, organic
carbons, iron, manganese, and other chemical compounds for which
treatment is required. All of the above affect the ability of a facility to
convert source water to potable water suitable for human consumption.
9. Of particular significance to the ability of a water treatment facility to
produce potable water is the potential increase in turbidity in affected
Declaration of Dan Harmon
3
watersheds following a wildfire. Scientific studies conducted in the western
United States indicate levels of turbidity in waters affected by sedimentation
caused by wildfire can increase to a possible range of 3,500 up to 31,000
NTUs (nephelometric turbidity units).
IO.Based on the information in the scientific literature, the impacts to the water
quality of the SWTP's sources can be expected to be particularly severe
during the first runoff season following a wildfire.
11. Water quality changes to source water can be expected to persist for at least
five years and for some wildfires may last up to ten years. Although the
magnitude and particular parameters affected may vary from year to year
and depend directly on the severity of weather events, changes in water
quality, especially changes in turbidity, will pose a significant challenge to
the SWTP should Sourdough Creek or Hyalite Creek, or both, experience a
significant wildfire.
12.The SWTP is designed to handle turbidities up to 1,000 NTU. This is a
significant improvement over current SWTP capabilities and represents a
treatment capability greater than many public water treatment facilities. At
this level, the SWTP's preliminary treatment facilities are expected to
remove most large particulate grit and are designed to produce post-
Declaration of Dan Harmon
4
preliminary treatment turbidities of 5 -10 NTU for introduction to the
membrane filtration system.
13.At source water turbidities above 1,000 NTU, however, performance of the
preliminary treatment facilities will be diminished, and will likely produce
water of a quality unacceptable for introduction to the membrane filtration
system. The result will be a shutdown of the SWTP and the inability of the
SWTP to produce potable water. The preliminary treatment facilities being
constructed will likely reduce the amount of time the SWTP will be shut
down during periods of high turbidity. However, it will likely only enable
the City to reduce required shutdown duration and will not completely avoid
treatment plant shutdowns.
14.Following significant wildfires, I have observed at other facilities that the
raw water is essentially not treatable for time periods of high runoff with any
conventional treatment process due to high color, high TOC, and elevated
iron and manganese levels. The improvements at the SWTP will reduce the
amount of time any shutdown may need to occur but will not eliminate the
risk that total plant shutdowns will occur due to wildfire related runoff.
15.Wildfire may cause additional challenges to the City's water collection
system. First, the initial flushes of debris and ash created by a wildfire, along
with any sediment originating from newly vulnerable hillsides, could
Declaration of Dan Harmon
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potentially overwhelm the City's existing raw water intakes on Sourdough
and Hyalite creeks. Second, the impoundment pool behind the dam on
Hyalite Creek could potentially be filled with sediment, ash and debris,
restricting flow to the intake. In addition, the fish ladder on Hyalite Creek
maybe clogged by debris in quantities that cannot be removed by the
existing flushing system.
16.Over time, sedimentation of the source water will decrease, but the problem
will persist until the forest vegetation can be restored. This process can take
up to a decade or longer.
17.The magnitude of water quality changes will be dependent on the extent of
the fire in the watersheds and the intensity of the burn, as well as the severity
and frequency of runoff events subsequent to the fire.
18.To most effectively minimize impact to the SWTP operations, I recommend
the City support management of the City's watersheds to minimize the risk,
potential, and severity of wildfire events severe enough to create significant
sediment, colors, and metals loading in the raw water supply.
EXECUTED on this 5`h day of December, 2012, in Missoula, Montana.
an H on, P.E.,
HDR, Inc.
Declaration of Dan Harmon
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