Study commission votes to add Reclamation & Environmental Services director to charter (section 7.08)

The Silver Bow County study commission voted Jan. 5 to add section 7.08 to the county charter to establish a Reclamation and Environmental Services department and to require a director qualified "by training and or experience." The chair said the addition would include a quarterly reporting requirement for Superfund activities and that the draft still needs review by the county attorney before final insertion in the preliminary report.

Mary McCormick, a working-group member, emphasized the importance of exposing evaluation criteria and comparative tables to the public during the preliminary-report process; she had urged inclusion of the evaluation-criteria table and state comparisons collected by staff. The chair said those tables are required and will be included in the preliminary report.

County Attorney Enruth and commissioners debated the exact placement and wording of qualification standards. The chair revised the draft so the council of commissioners "shall establish by ordinance the qualifications, training, and or experience required and additional responsibilities for the remediation and environmental services department." The commission then considered the amended language.

Dan Dennehy moved to add section 7.08 as amended; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally. The chair said the finalized language will be brought forward in the preliminary report for further review.

The change codifies a separate departmental designation for reclamation and environmental work in Butte and adds a public-communication requirement: the director will provide quarterly reports on Superfund activities and progress to the council of commissioners. The county attorney will review the text before the commission forwards it to the preliminary report stage.