Residents press county on Knife River sampling plan and groundwater guarantee for vineyard/veneer site

Residents raised concerns at the Crook County Board of Commissioners meeting about whether Knife River

Julie Thompson, a resident of Green Valley Road in Pineville, told commissioners she had received Knife River sampling-plan materials and asked whether commissioners and staff had reviewed them. She said recent updates stated the sampling would be delayed into the fall and that Knife River would need to drill additional wells. She said she and other residents want a third-party presence on-site during sampling to ensure chain-of-custody and to know samples are tied to the correct wells.

Commissioner Seth Crawford acknowledged receipt of testing results for some parties and asked staff to review the sampling plan. A county staff member said the plan had been negotiated between state agencies and Knife River and that the state-level entity (referred to in the plan) currently controls elements of the sampling plan. County staff emphasized the county"backstop" would be the groundwater protection guarantee the board required as a condition of the conditional use permit (CUP) for the vineyard/veneer site.

Multiple speakers, including Adam Kulski (who said he had reviewed the plan), described language in the county ordinance reference that a groundwater protection guarantee would require the operator to take corrective action and reimburse property owners if state agencies determine the operator caused injury to groundwater. Kulski and others warned that the claim process and proof of injury could place a heavy burden and costly litigation on residents.

County staff described the county position: the county cannot authorize mining at the vineyard/veneer site until the groundwater guarantee is reviewed and approved by the board in a public meeting. Staff said the guarantee is intended to create triggers and corrective measures if groundwater impacts occur and to allow public review when the operator submits the guarantee for board consideration.

Speakers asked whether the county could require third-party sampling or fund independent testing. Staff said the sampling plan itself had been negotiated with state agencies, and that jurisdictional limits constrain what the county can require; the groundwater guarantee is the principal county control. Commissioners asked staff to assemble a plain-language explanation of legal and procedural limits the county faces when attempting to stop active mining or pursue enforcement, and to share that explanation with the public.

No formal board action was taken at the meeting on Knife River sampling or the groundwater guarantee; staff said the guarantee will be reviewed in a future public proceeding when the operator submits the final document.