(logo whooshing) - [Joe] Coming up on IMPACT.

(gentle music) Some Montanans are feeling blindsided by proposed gravel pits in their backyards.

- They're proposing a one hundred fifty seven acre gravel pit and I was like 'What?'

- [Joe] We'll examine the new controversial regulations for gravel pits.

(logo whooshing) And it employed hundreds of people for nearly a hundred years, but now the sugar beet plant in Sidney is closing.

How are residents planning to fill the void?

(logo whooshing) Those stories next on IMPACT.

(gentle upbeat music) - [Announcer] Production of IMPACT is made possible with support from the Otto Bremer Trust.

Investing in people, places, and opportunities in our region.

Online at ottobremer.org.

The Greater Montana Foundation.

Encouraging communication on issues, trends, and values of importance to Montanans.

And viewers like you, who are friends of Montana PBS.

Thank you.

(logo whooshing) (gentle upbeat music) - Welcome to IMPACT, our continuing series dedicated to in-depth reporting on issues important to Montanans.

I'm Joe Lesar.

Gravel is in high demand for roads and construction projects around the state.

In 2021, lawmakers passed a bill that made it quicker and easier to secure an opencut mining permit to extract gravel.

But residents near proposed opencut sites say the changes went too far and left them with no voice in the process.

Montana PBS's Aj Williams reports.

(logo whooshing) - [Aj] In the heart of the Jocko Valley, lies a quiet pastoral neighborhood that may look different very soon.

- [Citizen] From that tree lane, you can see how close we are to the, to the proposed asphalt plant.

- [Fyant] I was contacted by one of my neighbors and said, "Do you know that there's proposing a 157 acre gravel pit with an asphalt plant that could potentially run 24/7?"

And I was like, "What?"

- [Aj] Fyant lives just over a half mile from the site, and according to new regulations, there was no need for the contracting Herself and her neighbors would soon become an example of an increasing number of conflicts between citizens not wanting gravel pits in their backyard, but their presence somewhere being necessary for Montana's growth.

Fyant and others living close to the site formed an organizing group called "Friends of the Jocko," in hopes of doing all they can to keep this pit out of their local valley.

- [Fyant] Those are gonna disappear if the water's piped.

- [Aj] Fyant is the former tribal chairwoman for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, and fears the mine could undo decades of tribal restoration.

- [Fyant] The tribes have spent millions of dollars trying to restore bull trout to, you know, the Jocko River, and in our waterways.

- [Smith] Everybody thinks it should be somewhere else rather than where they are, but that's not the way things get built.

- [Aj] Smith says, while gravel pits may be unpopular with some residents, contracting companies need to have mines near their building sites.

These opencut mines, as they're known, remove sand, clay, and most pertinently, gravel from the ground.

- [Smith] And gravel is a component of almost everything that is involved with construction.

- [Aj] Smith says, that as Montana's population is growing, so is the demand for gravel, and the need for a more streamlined opencut permitting system.

In the 2021 session, lawmakers made that easier.

- [Madam Chair] We will now hear the Bill 599, sponsored by our own representative, Steve Gunderson.

- Thank you, Madam Chair.

- Jumping on your bill, Representative.

- [Steve] Thank you, Madam Chair, and natural resources, it's great to be back here in the podium.

- [Aj] House Bill 599 was carried by Representative Steve Gunderson of Libby.

Gunderson declined numerous opportunities to interview on camera for this story, but in a written statement, Gunderson said, "Proposed changes have been passed and signed into law by the governor over many sessions.

Much of this legislation has been a tweak to make minor changes."

Proponents like Gunderson say this is a reclamation bill, meaning, its focus was changing what happens to a site after it's been mined.

Proponents believe that this particular bill cut through unnecessary red tape, and brought big changes in the right direction.

But critics say, "The changes went beyond reclamation and come at the cost of property owners."

- [Ms. Hedges] We definitely need a more housing in this state, and we need roads to provide access to that housing.

Nobody is debating that.

What we're debating is quality of life for the people who exist in an area already, making sure that their homes, their property values and their water resources are not impaired unnecessarily.

- [Madam Chair] Ms. Hedges, please proceed.

- [Ms. Hedges] Madam Chair, members of the Committee and Hedges with the Montana Environmental Information Center and this is not opencut 2.0, this is an opencut 8.0.

- [Aj] During the bill's committee hearing, Hedges was the only opponent to testify against the bill, citing concerns with changes to environmental regulations and public participation.

Gunderson doesn't believe that opencut mines cause environmental damage or depreciate property values.

Friends of the Jocko say that those are the concerns that drove them to public action.

Their first step was to rally the neighborhood in writing public meeting requests to the DEQ, in hopes of having an open forum.

The group soon found that House Bill 599 changed requirements for public meetings.

It increased the amount of requests needed from notified neighbors from 30% to 51%.

Friends of the Jocko say that they did meet the threshold, but DEQ says they did not, and there was no public meeting.

- [Hedges] If we had a public meeting, the community center would be packed for sure, and then we could start to understand, you know, one another's perspectives.

- [Aj] Across the state, some neighbors facing proposed mine sites have similar concerns, including those in Libby.

Several residents were upset by a proposed location of a 14.4 acre opencut mine in their rural, yet, residential neighborhood.

- [Hudson] What about noise?

What about, you know, if he's going after an asphalt plant and what about the pollution that comes off an asphalt plant from that area?

The same thing and we don't want it in our backyard.

- [Aj] Hudson, alongside the majority of his neighbors submitted enough requests to the DEQ that they did secure a public meeting.

- [Hudson] We get there, and they have all kinds of information about water and air and noise and nobody could answer any question.

- [Aj] The gravel mine was officially approved in January of this year.

The public meeting in Libby was the only meeting for an opencut site, the DEQ held in 2022.

But they say that sending public comments through email and posted mail are also avenues for feedback.

- [Hedges] So even though we aren't having as many public meetings we are still wanting the same amount of engagement from the public through public comments.

- [Aj] And engagement with the public concerning the Jocko site was what they got.

The DEQ says they typically received 20 comments or less on a given site, but for the site in the Jocko, they received nearly 180 comments, roughly nine times the average, including statements from the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas, which shares a fence with the site and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, whose land the mine would be operating on.

DEQ told Montana PBS that the types of comments they are able to consider are those that provide documented specific information about the site and surrounding areas.

In an effort to streamline the process, they distributed the work to different departments, but that limited opportunity for public comment.

Bausch says that though environmental permits have changed hands, they are still required by law.

- [Hedges] And you're still responsible for getting your quality permits, water quality permits, whatever's applicable.

- [Aj] These responsibility changes within the department have critics worried about the public's voice in a site's environmental factors.

- [Hedges] They never said that the public never gets to comment on those particular permits for a particular mine.

And that's what's so troubling is the public is really cut out of the process on the things that matter most to them and their communities.

- [Aj] For some opencut sites, water is no longer an applicable factor.

House Bill 599 also made the application process faster by introducing the dryland permit option for sites that don't interact with the year round water supply.

- [Hedges] The problem is, it's only one year worth of information that they're giving to the department to prove that it's high and dry and we know that we are a state that's subject to droughts.

And so in some areas, there may not be much water there this year, but maybe last year, the water table was much higher.

- [Aj] Hedges acknowledges that DEQ does review an application for its dryland status, but it's the contractors who submit the information.

Proponents point out that the application has to submit required measurements as The bill also changed the DEQs ability to regulate how much impact the site can have on the community, while the DEQ used to dictate community impacts like hours of operation and noise levels.

Now, operators write their own terms of operation.

The DEQ holds them to the terms they've written for themselves.

- [Hedges] If the operator says in their permit, "I'm only going to operate between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM," those are the hours that we hold them to.

So if the operator has stated something, that's what we hold them to.

- [Aj] Even though operators are doing more self-regulation, Smith says that DEQ scientists still review the permits and their plans closely.

- [Smith] They don't just sit back there and say, "Oh, this looks like a good application and it, the way that we comply is by DEQ, reviewing that and looking at it."

- [Aj] Once the review process is done and an application is deemed complete by the DEQ, they must approve it.

- [Smith] Technically, a permit can never just be told, no never.

- [Aj] Bausch notes that some sites will never meet requirements, in which case, the applicant will pull out of the process.

In 2022, the opencut division received 52 applications and approved 49.

- [Hedges] The role of DEQ before 599, after 599, and into the future beyond any other statutory changes will be to ensure that permits meet the requirements of the law and that the operations on the ground are meeting the requirements of the law.

- [Aj] There is one way for a community to keep a gravel pit out of their backyard by zoning the land residential.

Most of Montana, however, is unzoned and areas with approved opencut applications can't be retroactively zoned.

It's too late for zoning the Jocko site, because the application was approved by the DEQ on April 3rd.

The group is holding community meetings to discuss options, and sees litigation as the community's last resort.

- [Hedges] I kind of hate to take that route, because it's expensive, and, you know, it can set precedent for other projects, good or bad.

You know, the results could affect a lot of other communities as well.

- [Aj] Hedges believes gravel pit opponents might sue over Montana's constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.

- [Hedges] Everyone loses.

This is a no-win situation.

When the law is unconstitutional and if a court finds it it's unconstitutional, then that developer is gonna be left in limbo.

- [Aj] Smith doesn't wanna see that.

He believes the changes have ultimately benefited Montanans, because projects are done faster and time is money.

- [Smith] There's been a two-year run on House Bill 599.

Let's see what the results are.

- [Aj] For citizens opposed to gravel pits, the results of the bill mean more limited public participation, concern for environmental impacts, and a potential lawsuit.

(water bubbling) For IMPACT, I'm Aj Williams.

(water bubbling) - Last week, lawmakers began debating a new bill that would exclude mines and power plants from the Montana Environmental Protection Act.

If the bill becomes law, it would make it harder for citizens to sue over opencut mines.

Well, communities in the Lower Yellowstone are dealing with a new reality this spring.

After nearly a century of operation, the sugar beet processing facility in Sidney is closing.

For generations, the plant has been a steady source of economic vitality and community identity.

Montana PBS's Stan Parker talk to farming families and community leaders to learn what the future holds.

(logo whooshing) - [Stan] It may not look like it yet, but it's springtime here in near Fairview.

Tim Cayko and his son, Adam, are gearing up for the planting season.

- This spring is, it's been a lot longer than most.

We still got snow on the ground outside, so hopefully it's gonna start warming up.

(engine roaring) Break your bar or not, oh.

We've been pretty busy here working on equipment and getting things changed over to newer crops.

- [Stan] Newer crops is a jarring phrase to hear on this farm.

For 90 years and four generations, the Cayko family has always planted sugar beets.

Now, that's a thing of the past.

- Gave us some pride to say, "Oh, yeah, I'm a sugar beet farmer."

You know, it was something that people didn't really hear of very much.

- [Stan] In February, the beet processing facility in nearby Sidney, announced it would close for good.

Spelling the end of an era here on the lower Yellowstone or for almost a century, sugar beets have been a fixture of the economy and the local identity.

No factory, means no sugar beets.

Trucking them is just too expensive to take them somewhere else, and efforts by locals to buy the plant were unsuccessful.

After years of fraught contract negotiations between owners and growers, the news wasn't a total surprise, but it's still taking some time to sink in.

- You know, there's anger at first and then there's disappointment.

- [Stan] Jeff Bieber is the president of the Montana Dakota Beet Growers Association.

He farms with his son, Justin, just down the road from Tim and Adam.

- And they finally announced that they're actually gonna close the plant and move away from production of sugar beets in the valley here.

It goes to a level of disappointment and discouragement that haven't felt in a long time.

- [Stan] The Biebers and the Caykos have roots that stretch back to when the plant first opened.

It's a history that's well-chronicled in - There it is, yep.

So, Holly Sugar Factory to open on October 1st.

- [Stan] The Montana Heritage Center is Richland County's history museum.

Executive Director Nikki Bailey explains that the factory was the result of hard work by early settlers.

They worked together to convince Holly Sugar Corporation to invest in their town.

- A few influential people stepped up and said, "Hey, this would be a great place.

What if you did this?"

And then that's when the company came in.

So I think that Sidney and Richland County will continue to do that.

It's not a place where people, you can't afford to sit back and not do anything.

- [Stan] The community, even then, recognized the act as a visionary feat that would make the region prosper for generations to come.

Newspaper headlines read, "Factory due to the untiring efforts of far-sighted men," and, "Opening Of New Sugar Factory Marks Epoch In The History Of The Lower Yellowstone."

- The community of Sidney and Richland County is extremely resilient.

They didn't come here because it was going to be easy.

That resilience is something that is kind of ingrained within the community and everything that is in Sidney or has been brought to Sidney was brought by people who lived here.

- The hardships that those folks come through to put beets in this valley along with the irrigation project that's here that makes this valley such a unique place is really cool.

- [Stan] Those early years saw a recruitment effort to bring farmers into the area to grow sugar beets.

- [Tim] These are the folks they brought up from Colorado to start farming here in the Sidney area.

My grandpa, George, and his family are right in this area.

That's him with the hat.

All hand labor back at that time, they worked hard for what they got.

- [Stan] Since then, the Caykos have been an important part of the growing community.

When Adam graduated from MSU with a plant science degree in 2013, he came back to carry on the legacy.

- And I was very glad to have him back.

We were, my dad was getting older and so was I (laughs) and wearing out a little bit and we needed help, and Adam knew what he was doing from the time he got here 'cause he grew up on this farm.

- [Adam] You can tell we look really happy so we must have been enjoying ourselves out there, spending our summers on the Ditch Bank, but.

- [Stan] So after nearly a century of tradition, how did things fall apart?

American Crystal Sugar Company has owned Sidney Sugars for roughly the last 20 years.

It's by far the nation's biggest sugar beet refiner.

A cooperative owned by sugar beet growers in the Red River Valley, along the North Dakota, Minnesota line.

The company said they had to close the plant, because the farmers here weren't willing to grow enough acres to keep the plant profitable.

The company declined our request for an interview, but area growers say that's not the full story.

- We did everything we could to keep city Montana open.

We took several cuts to our pay over the years.

The farmers were willing to take those cuts to keep Sidney open and keep the option of growing beets in Sidney, Montana.

- [Stan] Bieber says the cuts just kept coming year after year.

- [Jeff] They were taking money off of the table, and to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, but that money wasn't staying in Sidney, Montana, and it wasn't being reinvested back into the plant to help us, to help them prove to us that they wanted to stay here.

- Last year, a lot of guys jumped ship already.

They were already trying other crops and have found some lucrative spots.

- Where the current pricing is, the short term for converting from sugar beets into other crops looks good for farmers.

It's just long-term if $5 and five-cent corn turns into $3 and five-cent corn, everything, everything changes quickly, so.

- [Stan] Bieber sees no path forward for sugar processing here, even if another company or even the growers themselves wanted to buy the plant, they wouldn't even be able to sell the sugar due to federal regulations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture can be sold each year as a way to ensure good prices for producers.

These sugar allotments, as they're called, are owned by the processors.

So in closing Sidney Sugars, American Crystal can now make more sugar at their other facilities.

- Somewhere along the line, this allotment system became an asset.

As sugar continued to increase in price, the right to sell to sugar was actually worth more than the sugar beets.

And in Sidney's case, worth more than what they could make at the plant in Sidney.

- [Stan] The closure impacts not just the farming community, but also the city of Sidney, where the silos, beet piles and steam plumes are baked into the community identity.

- There ain't much you can do about it.

It's a corporate decision and a crappy corporate decision, but that's just the way life worked.

- [Stan] Rick Norby is the mayor of Sidney.

Like a lot of people around here, sugar beets are part of his family history, too.

- I'm a lifer, I was born and raised in this area, of course, graduated from high school in 1981 from here.

From there, went into farming with my dad and brother for 20, roughly 20 years.

Sugar beets, of course.

Oh, you want orange?

- The orange one.

- Sorry, I'm about dead pour in that.

- [Stan] It's clear he has a love for the community.

- Oh, you always have people say that, you know, a small towns judge people.

(laughs) I was kind of a naughty boy growing up, so somewhere along the line I've been forgiven to be able to be allowed to be a representative of the people of Sidney and I'm quite proud of that.

It's my way of giving back to a community that gave me everything, and I was just too young to realize that, I guess.

- [Chairman] All in favor say aye.

- [Committee] Aye.

- [Chairman] All oppose saying (speaks faintly) agenda.

- My biggest concern is employees.

Everybody that works there, you're part of their family and I still get treated that way today from working down there just a couple years.

- [Stan] Leadership for the Employee's Union declined our request for an interview, saying they wanted to wait to speak.

But at a recent city council meeting, Leslie Messer with Richland Economic Development told Norby and the council about efforts underway to help employees.

- Most recently, we've conducted eight different small business consultations with employees from Sidney Sugars, and these are employees that are gonna use their severance packages to start businesses right here in Sidney.

- [Stan] She said she held a meeting for the employees as soon as she could, connecting them with resources, new opportunities, and retraining options.

15 workers have already received welding training and low unemployment rates in Richland County mean opportunities are out there, but the beet plant has always offered reliable, good paying work.

- It's always been a security, a fallback on.

So it's gonna, it plays a very important role especially on the county tax base.

- [Stan] Citing a 2012 study from North Dakota State University, Messer says that via property taxes and wages, Sidney Sugars put more than $10 million annually into the local economy.

- That was a 120 jobs.

Those were good paying jobs for the community.

- [Stan] But the loss isn't just economic.

- To hear that sugar beet processing is not going to be an aspect of our economy anymore was absolutely devastating for me.

- [Stan] As for the growers, all expectations are that this Fertile Valley will continue to produce.

- [Messer] The one thing I can say about agriculture over the years is that that is the engine that always runs.

Through the ebbs and tides of the oil and gas, the egg has been the economic driver that keeps everything stable.

- [Stan] A hundred years of sugar beets was a good run, but now these family farms are embarking on a new challenge, and they'll tackle it the same way they've done for generations together.

- [Tim] My son has helped a lot.

That young mind of, "Let's make it work, let's figure out how to do it," has helped the old dog in me start looking towards the future a little more.

I was pretty set in my ways with beets around, but it's gonna be a change and I'm willing.

(chuckles) - [Stan] This year, the Caykos will be trying their hand at corn and soybeans, as well as spring wheat, which was already in their rotation.

- Changing over to some of these newer crops and different machinery and different farming methods in general, is gonna be kinda nerve-wracking, especially for maybe the older generation.

(Adam laughs) The fact that we're in a fertile, high yielding, you know, type of area bodes pretty well to what we have as far as the future.

- [Stan] As one chapter closes, another opens for growers here, who are looking to pass down what was passed down to them for generations to come.

- [Adam] Then I also have a new little daughter that was born just a few days ago.

So we have a new addition to the Cayko family to hopefully carry this on a little bit.

(gentle music) - [Stan] For IMPACT, I'm Stan Parker.

(gentle music) - Leslie Messer with Richland County Economic Development says she's aware of multiple companies exploring the possibility of buying the facility, but to her knowledge, there's been no foreign motion on those ideas.

(gentle music) Well, those are our stories for this edition of IMPACT.

Next time on the show, we'll be dedicating the entire program to a deeper examination of the potential benefits and risks of nuclear power in Montana.

(logo whooshing) What are the new technologies, who is pushing for them, and where would the nuclear waste go?

That's next time on IMPACT.

(logo whooshing) Well, for our entire team, I'm Joe Lesar, thank you for joining us.

(gentle upbeat music) - [Announcer] Production of IMPACT is made possible with support from the Otto Bremer Trust, investing in people, places and opportunities in our region, online at ottobremer.org, the Greater Montana Foundation, encouraging communication on issues, trends and values of importance to Montanans, and viewers like you, who are friends of Montana PBS.

Thank you.

(logo whooshing) (lively upbeat music ends)