Health Board asks EIS on tire-burning plan

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL, Chronicle Staff Writer

The Gallatin City/County Board of Health decided Thursday it would do everything within its power to convince the state to complete an Environmental Impact Statement on Holcim Inc.'s tire-burning plan.

"We can, as a board, support our scientific viewpoint on this and that is that there isn't enough science," Dennis Alexander, a member of the board, said at the board's monthly meeting.

Although the board has no direct power to stop the cement manufacturer from its plan to burn tires for fuel, it can send a resolution to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality expressing its concerns.

DEQ employees have said the board's voice would carry more weight than regular public comments.

The board voted unanimously to draft a strong resolution. It will spell out the specific scientific information missing in the environmental assessment, as well as state statutes that were ignored in the EA.

But board members also said they know that a resolution might not be enough.

"The cold, hard reality when talking about the DEQ doing an EIS is that it is a political decision," said Gallatin County Commissioner and board member John Vincent.

He said Jan Sensibaugh, DEQ director, will not call for an EIS unless Gov. Judy Martz signs off on it, no matter what scientific or policy discrepancies are pointed out.

"This is not going to be decided by anyone at this point except the director and the governor," Vincent said.

Along with the resolution, the board decided to send letters to Sensibaugh and Martz asking each to push for an EIS.

Holcim applied to the DEQ in October 2001 for permission to burn more than a million tires a year to help fuel its Trident cement plant.

Its application has come under heavy public scrutiny and has been the subject of ongoing debate since draft permits were issued at the end of March.

Ultimately, the state has the final say over issuance of the permits. But, the health board has a mission to protect public health and is concerned about the tire-burning issue.

Board member Lee Hietala asked if the health board had any authority to threaten legal action against the DEQ.

"They are not following their own rules," he said. "If they do not follow their own rules, we will take them to court."

But other board members said it is inappropriate to make that threat at this time since the DEQ hasn't issued the air-quality and solid-waste permits needed for the company to burn tires.

"One way or another this is going to be appealed by somebody," Alexander said. "It's too early to threaten legal action."

Vincent volunteered to draft the letters to state officials. Board members Brian Leland, Warren Jones and Tim Ford will write the resolution for board approval.

The public comment period on the proposal ends May 30.

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