Residents in Garnier Creek Estates have raised concerns about retaining ponds from an adjacent subdivision compromising the small stream, but the developer said the ponds are still under construction and it’s been too wet to finish them.

Garnier Creek is a small stream that runs between the existing Garnier Creek Estates and Tamarack Meadows to the east.

Kyle Schellinger of Schellinger Construction, the Columbia Falls company building Tamarack Meadows, said last week that it’s been too wet to finish the ponds, which are permitted by the Flathead Conservation District and the state Department of Environmental Quality.

“We haven’t been able to complete construction,” he said. July has been unusually wet, with several rain events.

He said the ponds, once finished, are designed to settle out sediments and then, eventually, drain into the creek. The ponds need additional work. He said DEQ and the Conservation District were both on the site last week and were satisfied with the design. The work should be completed in the next month.

The settling ponds are required as part of the state DEQ permit for the subdivision to control runoff.

Resident Paul Kruger, as well as other neighbors who live to the west of Tamarack Meadows, claim the ponds currently are polluting the creek with runoff. Kruger made his case to the Columbia Falls City Council on July 21 and has also filed complaints with the Flathead County Planning Office, according to documents he shared with the Hungry Horse News.

He said he didn’t oppose the subdivision, but was critical of the design of the ponds and the amount of vegetation that was removed to build them.

“My issue is protection of Garnier Creek,” he said.

The small stream is a trout stream, home to primarily non-native brook trout. While the city no longer has jurisdiction over Tamarack Meadows, Kruger asked the city for help in the matter.

The city initially approved the subdivision with a condition that the open space near the creek be left intact. 

The original condition stated that “The open space is dedicated in perpetuity; that the space is available for use by the general public, and that said space shall be owned and maintained by the Homeowners Association. No vegetation can be removed in open space areas without approval by the Homeowners Association; and the buffer areas adjacent to Garnier Creek shall remain undeveloped and in a natural state. Changes to the use and/or management of the common open space shall be approved by the Homeowners Association.”

But the city’s jurisdiction over the matter ended with the passage of the Montana Land Use Planning Act, which took away the city’s control over projects outside of city limits.

Tamarack Meadows is well outside the city limits, though it will eventually be part of Meadow Lake Resort.

So the matter now falls before the county and the state. The county has also agreed to investigate the matter as well, according to documents provided by Kruger.

Mayor Don Barnhart agreed with Kruger in principle.

“I looked at the pictures and I agree. I think there were mistakes made,” he said. “Why would you put settling ponds next to a free-flowing creek?”

But he wasn’t sure what the city could do at this point, though he said city staff would look into the matter.

The subdivision calls for 103 units on 47 acres.