Opponents of a proposed water bottling plant near Creston are suing Flathead County.
The Egan Slough Community sued after commissioners denied their attempt to rezone the proposed location of the bottling plant for strictly agricultural use. 65 percent of neighboring land owners signed a petition for re-zoning.
But Flathead County commissioners unanimously denied their request in November, saying the new zoning district would restrict the property rights of the person proposing the bottling plant. The lawsuit says the plant could produce up to 1.2 billion plastic water bottles a year and require as many as 200 delivery trips a day on gravel roads.
In the lawsuit filed December 20, the Egan Slough Community seeks to overturn the commissioners’ decision, calling it, "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion."
We were unable to contact Flathead County commissioners or Lew Weaver, who is proposing the bottling plant, before airtime today.
