DEQ says power line construction violated permit

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GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — State environmental regulators say the company building a $215 million power line between Montana and Alberta has violated conditions of its permit, but the agency is not proposing any civil penalties.

The Department of Environmental Quality says Tonbridge Power contractors have left excessive ruts in the area from vehicles and disturbed a Native American archaeological site. The company is working in an area from south of Cut Bank to the Canadian border.

The Great Falls Tribune reports that Tonbridge argued the ruts do not rise to the level of a permit violation, in part because the permit allows the reclamation of such areas.

Tonbridge CEO Johan van't Hof did acknowledge a contractor ran over a rock in a teepee ring. He says Tonbridge is taking steps to avoid what he called an “unacceptable incident.”

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