Fergus County approves after‑the‑fact floodplain permit for Allied Steel on East Fork of Big Spring

Fergus County commissioners on May 27 approved an after‑the‑fact floodplain permit for Allied Steel covering work on the East Fork of Big Spring, county staff said. The company has already completed a detention pond and a discharge pipe that connects to a culvert below the creek's high‑water mark.

County staff described the application as "after the fact," saying construction and erosion control work were finished before the formal permit was filed. "We're recommending approval for this after the fact floodplain permit, which means that it has already been constructed," said Unidentified Speaker 2, who presented the application to the commission. The presenter said the county contacted an engineer and completed a joint application after a neighbor alerted the conservation district to on‑site work.

Commissioners reviewed photos and staff comments showing the culvert and the riprap installed below it. Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 discussed earlier images compared with the final construction, and Speaker 2 confirmed the most recent photos reflect the completed work. Staff told the commission the primary in‑stream impact was a disturbed culvert "below the high water mark" and that riprap was placed to provide energy dissipation and erosion control.

The commission also discussed enforcement options for future after‑the‑fact work. Transcript discussion referenced fees and a county violation penalty; staff noted the county could impose a $500 violation fee in future cases but that Allied Steel approached county staff before a formal violation was issued. The transcript contains several garbled fee figures (total amounts referred to as $3.10 and $7.50 in different lines) that were not resolved during the meeting.

After brief discussion, Speaker 4 moved to approve the after‑the‑fact floodplain permit for Allied Steel; Speaker 1 seconded. The motion passed by voice vote with commissioners answering "Aye." The permit was recorded on the meeting agenda as application 22825FC for Allied Steel.

The commission did not record a named roll‑call tally in the transcript and did not specify additional permit conditions or mitigation beyond the installed riprap. The transcript indicates the county's conservation district was involved in notifying the county and that an engineer participated in preparing the joint application. The county did not announce any follow‑up reporting requirements or a formal enforcement action at the meeting.