Opponents of a proposed water bottling plant in Creston got some good news recently after the state validated dozens of formal objections to a preliminary water rights permit granted in January.

The Montana Artesian Water Co. is requesting permission to annually withdraw up to 231.5 million gallons of water from the underlying aquifer, prompting concerns by neighboring landowners that the withdrawals will negatively impact their continued access to well water.

To secure a final permit, the company now will have to advance through a hearing process with the objectors.

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation reviews new water rights applications based on six criteria, granting preliminary approval if the applicant meets each one. Affected water users may then file objections based on any number of those criteria.

Jamie Price, a hearings assistant for the state Water Rights Bureau, said Thursday the hearings unit deemed multiple objections “valid” on each one of the six criteria.

“Just because there is a valid objection, that does not determine at this point whether the permit is going to be granted or denied,” Price said Thursday. “That basically just means they had enough facts to get to the hearing process.”

Of about 75 objections submitted, close to half were deemed valid based on at least one criterion.

Those objections that fail to meet that standard were returned with a “deficiency notice,” giving people an opportunity to re-submit them.

Price said nearly all of the objections validated during the first round came from an attorney retained by 30 individuals and companies, and most of them are identical or nearly identical.

The state also validated objections from the Flathead Lakers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The federal wildlife agency objected in March on the basis that the new water right could adversely impact its Creston fish hatchery, which relies on the clean, cool water flowing from nearby artesian wells for rearing early-stage fish.

Local residents concerned about the proposed plant started an organization, Water for Flathead’s Future, to rally opposition to the project.

In addition to its opposition to the preliminary water rights permit, the group also worries that allowing the plant to begin operation could lead to other companies building water bottling plants in the area.

“As a community, we only have one chance to do this right,” Sandy Perry, the group’s organizer, said in a press release. “We need to look before we leap, or we and future generations will suffer the consequences.”

The release noted the group also is seeking a moratorium on commercial bottling plants.

The re-submitted objections needed to be postmarked Wednesday, and Price said it will be a couple of weeks before the state has a final list of the parties with valid objections. A formal hearing will follow.

“At the hearing, that’s where the examiner will take evidence from the objector and the applicant will get to cross-examine those,” she said. “The examiner will take any evidence he’s received and then decide by a preponderance of evidence.”

The Montana Artesian Water Co., owned by Lew Weaver, also needs a draft discharge permit to operate the proposed facility. The state Department of Environmental Quality expects to release a draft version of that permit for public review sometime next month.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.