EXISTING CONDITIONS 



REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 



Montana Surface Water Quality 

 Standards 



According to ARM 27. 30.^08 (2) (a), 

 the Swan River drainage, including 

 Soup Creek and other small 

 tributaries, is classified as B-1. 

 Among other criteria for B-1 waters, 

 no increases are allowed above 

 naturally occurring levels of sedi- 

 ment, and minimal increases over 

 natural turbidity. "Naturally 

 occurring, " as defined by ARM 

 17.30.602 (17), includes conditions 

 or materials present during runoff 

 from developed land where all 

 reasonable land, soil, and water 

 conservation practices (commonly 

 called BMPs) have been applied. 

 Reasonable practices include meth- 

 ods, measures, or practices that 

 protect present and reasonably 

 anticipated beneficial uses. These 

 practices include, but are not 

 limited to, structural and 

 nonstructural controls and operation 

 and maintenance procedures . 

 Appropriate practices may be applied 

 before, during, or after completion 

 of potentially impactive activities. 



Designated beneficial water uses 

 within the project area include 

 coldwater fisheries and recreational 

 use in the streams, wetlands, and 

 the surrounding area. 



Water-Quality-Limited Waterbodies 



No watersheds or streams in the 

 proposed project area are listed in 

 the 1996 or 2002 LIST OF WATERBODIES 

 IN NEED OF TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD 

 (TMDL) DEVELOPMENT publication 

 produced by DEQ {DEQ 1996, 2002) . 



Montana Streamside Management Zone 

 (SMZ) Law 



By the definition in ASM -36 .11.312 

 (3), Soup Creek is a class 1 stream. 

 The remainding streams in the project 

 area are class 2 or 3 streams based on 

 site-specific conditions defined in 

 ARM 36.11.312 (4) and (5). Other than 



Soup Creek, no streams in the proposed 

 project area contain fish, but some 

 flow for more than 6 months of the 

 year. 



SEDIMENT DELIVERY 



A DNRC hydrologist and an 

 engineering specialist field 

 reviewed the project area and 

 identified a network of roads 

 ranging from high to low standard in 

 and around the proposed project 

 area. Soup Creek Road meets all 

 applicable BMPs and is not currently 

 contributing sediment to Soup Creek. 

 A Soup Creek Road spur in Section 2 

 of the project area was reviewed as 

 a potential haul route. This spur, 

 currently closed, has functional 

 surface-drainage features on the 

 road surface and a log- stringer 

 bridge that crosses Soup Creek; the 

 bridge is not strong enough to 

 support loaded log trucks and the 

 road would be difficult to maintain 

 BMPs for hauling. 



The remainder of the road system 

 consists of low- standard roads on 

 gentle grades (less than 8 percent) . 

 Much of these roads would require 

 the installation of surface-drainage 

 and erosion-control features in 

 order to meet applicable BMPs. 

 Several culverts are too short and/ 

 or undersized; road- fill material 

 has been eroded at some of these 

 sites, but, due to vegetation cover, 

 current sediment levels are low. 

 These crossings are tributary to a 

 series of wetlands in and near the 

 project area. Also 2 drive-through 

 crossings on ephemeral draws are 

 unimproved. These drive-through 

 sites are currently well vegetated 

 and not eroding, but may not 

 function well for hauling purposes 

 without improvements. These draws 

 are discontinuous and do not deliver 

 surface water to any other body of 

 water. 



Stream channels in the proposed 

 project area are stable and rated in 

 a fair to good condition. A 

 majority of the channels are 



Page D-2 



Watershed and Hydrology Analysis 



