A Montana utility company needed to install 409 miles of fiber optic cable to provide faster media service to the rural residents of Hill and Liberty Counties. In partnership with another Montana engineering firm, WET provided a variety of services for this project.
WET prepared, submitted, and secured a Floodplain Permit, since the 100-year floodplain boundaries intersected with portions of the project area.
WET prepared, submitted, and secured a Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) Notice of Intent (NOI) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). Due to the route length, the construction related disturbance was 496 acres. There were 214 outfalls, associated with the disturbance from the track-type cable plow, and 27 outfalls, associated with the directional bore method, which is used at stream, gas-line, and high grade road crossings. (An outfall is defined as a discrete channel, conveyance, structure, or flow path from which storm water discharge leaves the boundary of the construction site and enters surface waters.)
WET prepared the information needed for a Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Environmental Checklist, specifically addressing concerns about the potential to affect: 1) water quality, wetlands, streams or other water bodies, and 2) listed or candidate threatened or endangered species, or critical habitat in the vicinity. This work requires extensive research, mapping, and agency (Montana Natural Heritage Program, Bureau of Land Management, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks) contacts and the preparation of final report, which WET’s partnering firm submitted and monitored.
WET personnel visited the project site to assess effectiveness of our services and determine ways to improve our products.