Powder River Examiner -

Last week, a Presidential Disaster Declaration was signed which will allow FEMA money to go towards flood recovery from earlier this spring. The funding will cover eight Montana counties – Powder River, Daniels, Lake, McCone, Park, Stillwater, Treasure, and Valley.

Speaking with Road Department Supervisor Teel Mullanix along County Commissioners Rod Schaffer and Lee Randall earlier this week, the group had not yet heard exact figures on how much money Powder River County would receive from the Feds.

The funds will go towards fixing damaged county roads and replacing culverts across the county. Some potential issues with the Federal funding exist. Teel said that the Federal government will pay to bring roads back to how they were before the flooding, while some roads need extra culverts emplaced or other changes, which means the county may have to pay for these improvements.

Currently, Mullanix’s crew is out in force, blading the roads and trying to fix what they can in between the ongoing spring storms. Teel said they are currently working on the Belle Creek Road, which has seen heavy damage from the weather and truck traffic.

The Commissioners mentioned that they will do everything possible to get the roads fixed, including hiring outside help, and paying the county overtime.

Other potential issues exist with fixing the roads. Permitting for gravel and scoria pits is becoming a larger issue all the time, with increased permitting costs, stricter standards for opening new pits, such as paying for the Montana State Historic Preservation Office to check out a new pit for cultural or historic significance, as well as stricter standards for reclamation of old pits.

Currently the county is looking to haul from the Kolka pit, later this summer, as well as the Clarys pit. They are also looking towards the future, to “prospect for new pits”, according to Randall.