Well’s impact on Blackfeet cultural area focus of meeting

The Washington-D.C.-based Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which promotes preservation of the nation’s historic properties, is coming to Montana this week when it will host a three-hour public meeting on proposed natural gas exploration in an area considered sacred by the Blackfeet Tribe.

A five-member panel of the council will take comments Wednesday in Choteau on the proposed Hall Creek natural gas exploration well in the Badger-Two Medicine area of Lewis and Clark National Forest, which has been controversial from the initial lease in 1981.

Milford Wayne Donaldson, who served as state historic preservation officer for the state of California from 2004 through 2012, will lead a five-member panel that will convene in Choteau, said Bruce Milhans, a spokesman for the council.

Donaldson is chairman of the 23-member council, which promotes the preservation of historic resources and advises the president and Congress on historic preservation policy. Most of the members are appointed by the president.

The council says the Hall Creek well in the Badger-Two Medicine area is generating a high level of interest, so much that speakers are being prioritized. The case is rare because usually parties in disputes over historic properties reach an agreement on ways to ease the impacts, Milhans said.

The Forest Service, Blackfeet Tribe, Montana State Historic Preservation Officer and Solenex LLC will be given first preference, followed by those who register to speak ahead of time.

The well is proposed by Solenex LLC, a Louisiana company. Solenex officials have argued that exploration for natural gas can occur without disturbing the district.

The exploration is opposed by the Blackfeet Tribe and others who argue the development would harm the Badger-Two Medicine Traditional Cultural District.

The Badger-Two Medicine area falls within Lewis and Clark National Forest. It abuts the Blackfeet Reservation, and carries religious and cultural significance to the Blackfeet Tribe.

Solenex is suing the federal government for what it says are unreasonable delays in the project over three decades. The permit to drill is currently suspended.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation isn’t a party to that case.

Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Forest Service was required to bring parties with interests in the issue together in an attempt to reach an agreement on a plan to lessen potential impacts of the exploration on the cultural district, which is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Previous meetings in Great Falls of the various parties, hosted by Lewis and Clark National Forest, produced no agreement, and Blackfeet leaders formally terminated the consultation process July 7.

Typically, the Section 106 consultation process is concluded when an agreement resolving the adverse impacts is executed by the consulting parties, Milhans said.

“It’s obviously a fairly complex case for a number of reasons,” Milhans said. “And that’s typical in a termination.”

As a result of the termination of that process, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, under its Section 106 responsibilities, must now make a recommendation to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack by Sept. 21 on the best course of action for the historic property. At the Choteau meeting, the panel will take comments before submitting its comments to Vilsack.

The Forest Service falls under the Agriculture Department.

Vilsack’s decision will end the consultation process regarding the historic property.

“They may have a recommendation on the best way to avoid, minimize or mitigate the impact of the proposed activity,” Milhans said.

People don’t have to attend the public meeting to have their voices heard, he said.

“It’s very important for people to know the comments they submit in writing, fax, email, mail are given equal weight and consideration,” Milhans said. “So people do not have to come to this meeting to make their points known.”

What’s next

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will take public comment on the impacts of a natural gas exploration well on historic properties in Lewis and Clark National Forest from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Stage Stop Inn, 1005 Main Ave. N., Choteau. Due to high level of public interest in the case, priority for speaking will be given first to representatives of the Forest Service, Blackfeet Tribe, Montana State Historic Preservation officer, and Solenex LLC, and then to those who notify the ACHP of their desire to speak. Provide speaker’s name and organization to 106permittodrill@achp.gov. or fax to 202-517-6381.

To comment

Written comments may be sent to 106permittodrill@achp.gov, faxed to 202-517-6381 or mailed to Ms. Katry Harris, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 401 F Street N.W., Suite 308, Washington, D.C. 20001-2637. Comments submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4 will be part of the public record and reviewed by the ACHP.