City Commissioners approved a conditional use permit to allow for the handling of a hazardous substance in the AgriTech Park during their April 16 meeting.

The city zoning commission voted unanimously during their March 26 meeting to recommend approval and Neighborhood Council 4 voted to support the permit with four in favor and one abstention.

The permit allows the handling of hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, which is listed as an ingredient of asphalt, at 6501 18th Ave. N.

City Commission to consider permit for hazardous material for proposed AgriTech Park facility

Ponderosa Solutions LLC is developing a lot in the AgriTech Park, which is has a planned unit development zoning designation and the entire park is about 196.5 acres, of which about 193.7 acres are proposed to be industrial lots.

Ponderosa is looking at a lot near the intersection of 18th Avenue North and 67th Street North.

Ponderosa has been providing transloading services nationwide for about 15 years, according to their application, and anticipate the proposed facility would provide transloading of asphalt, steel, lumber, building materials, livestock feed, aggregates and packaged goods, according to the city staff report.

City zoning board approves permit request for hazardous materials

The process of transloading asphalt involved loaded delivery trucks arriving on side and parking alongside a transloader positioned next to an empty railcar and the transloader pumps the asphalt product from the truck into the railcar, according to the staff report.

Ponderosa stated in its application that asphalt is non-penetrating, nonflammable and noncombustible and is therefore low risk when handling, according to the staff report.

The proposed facility would have about 10 employees onsite during peak season that would generate an estimated 20 trips daily and the facility would generate an average of 15 truck deliveries daily, generating 30 truck trips, or 50 daily trips in total, according to the staff report.

City zoning board to consider permit for hazardous material for proposed facility

City Commissioners adopted a resolution for annexation and approved an ordinance assigning the planned unit development zoning to the AgriTech Park in 2012.

City code requires a conditional use process before permitting a land use that involves handling hazardous materials, among other potentially dangerous or offensive activities.

City receives 58 applications for growth policy committee

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists hydrogen sulfide as a hazardous substance, requiring the city’s permit process to allow the proposed facility, according to city staff.

Staff reviewed the city’s 2013 growth policy and has concluded that it supports the CUP for the proposed development, specifically referring to one of the plan’s recommendations to “continue efforts to expand, retain and attract new business to Great Falls,” according to the staff report.

City beginning growth policy update

The policy also recommends that the city “implement the city’s land use codes to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its residence,” according to the staff report.

Staff is recommending approval with conditions, which are included in their staff report.

If approved, the developer would pay for site improvements, including any utility services.

Staff wrote in their report that the proposed development “will increase the city’s tax base and revenue and potentially attract other industrial users needing transloading services.”

During the April 16 meeting, Brian Marler, president and managing partner of Ponderosa, said that he had lived in Great Falls for about nine years previously and his daughter was born here.

He told commissioners that there had been a demand for a transload facility in Great Falls for some time, but none of the local companies or opportunities drove enough demand to justify a multimillion dollar investment.

Working with the Great Falls Development Alliance, Marler said they found a primary partner who will move enough asphalt through Great Falls the justify the investment.

Asphalt creates hydrogen sulfide, but Marler said in their operations, it will be about five parts per million and the defined federal levels that are set as hazardous to human health is 100 parts per million.

He said each operator will carry an H2S monitor for safety, but they’re approaching two decades of operations and haven’t had issues with H2S in that time.

Marler said they have a demand for the project to be operational by October 2024.

Jolene Schalper of GFDA said the transload facility would be beneficial for local businesses who currently have to truck material to Butte to transfer it to rail.

She said the community had a transload task force meeting in 2014 that identified the need for such a facility and in 2018, Ponderosa approached GFDA about establishing a facility here but they’d need a primary customer.

Commissioner Rick Tryon said, ““well, if we don’t’ do this, it’s our own asphalt,” to laughs and groans amongst those in the room.

Commissioner Joe McKenney asked why Ponderosa had to get a conditional use permit in Great Falls to handle H2S when they didn’t have to in other communities.

Brock Cherry, city planning director, said that each jurisdiction is different and that Great Falls code refers to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which defines H2S as a hazardous material.

He said it’s something they could look at during the growth policy process, but changes would require a code amendment.

Marler said city staff brought the permit to their attention and that it was caught early in the development process.

He said they looked at multiple locations in the Great Falls area and if they had more lead time, they may have gone to a spot outside the city limits, but said staff was helpful in getting them through the city process.