The Missoulian from Missoula, Montana • 9

Missoulian, Tuesday, July 31, 1984 Page 9 BPA must meet state standards Court says SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The federal Bonneville Power Administration must comply with Montana environmental restrictions for portions of a BPA power-line that are on federal land, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The court said the state restrictions do not apply to portions of the 248-mile line that are on private land. BPA lawyer Gary Stark said his agency has tried to follow state standards voluntarily during the case, and that he wasn't aware of any state restrictions violated by the powerline. Tim Hall, a lawyer for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, said the ruling's greatest effect may be on future BPA projects.

The powerline, now nearing 'completion, runs The federal departments of Agriculture and the Interior had granted BPA rights-of-way across federal land for the project. The state said neither department had insisted on compliance with a state law restricting powerlines to "the minimum adverse environmental Impact Montana also had adopted standards specifically for the BPA powerline, covering such topics as erosion, wildlife protection and reseeding A three-member panel of the court said unanimously that the "minimum adverse environmental impact" language was too vague to be a "state standard" for the federal government to follow. But in a 2-1 ruling that reversed a U.S. District Court decision, the appeals court said BPA must follow the specific standards adopted by Montana for the project. Rejecting the federal government's argument that rules adnptpd for a speciflr project are not "standards," Circuit Judge William Canby of Phoenix said, "Because each powerline crosses a unique environment, the trade-offs involved In environmental protection must frequently be made on an ad hoc, case-by-case basis." Judge Eugene Wright of Seattle agreed, but Judge Robert Boochever of Juneau dissented, saying "standards" must be uniform and apply equally to all projects.

The judges agreed, however, that BPA was not bound by state standards outside federal land even if, Canby said, this "may produce a strange result." from Townsend in southwest Montana to Taft near the Idaho border in northwest Montana. It links coal-fired power plants at Colstrip to BPA's grid in the Pacific Northwest. The project has run into local opposition because of environmental effects and the tax loss to local governments due to sponsorship by the BPA, which is exempt from local property taxes. Montana sued in 1981 under the Federal Land Policy Management Act, which requires federal agencies that grant rights-of-way across federal land to make sure the projects comply with "state standards for public health and safety, environmental protection and siting, construction, operation and maintenance of or for rights-of-way for similar purposes." By GORDON GREGORY Correspondent Powerline boss won't attend meeting called by ex-employee ance is unsatisfactory. "Their accusations are absolutly unfounded," he said.

"If (an employee) doesn't tend to hustle we don't keep them." He added that about 35 of the 40 people on his crews are from Montana or have been working in the state several years. Murray said he has a few grievances of his own. The company has been continually harassed by some people in the area, he said, adding that signs on access roads directing crews to tower sites are torn down repeatedly and the fire tools from company vehicles parked at job sites often are stolen. Murray also suspects someone sabotaged a road grader by propping an air filter lid open, which ruined the engine by allowing in dirt and dust. does hire "Ethically, they're not living up to the gentlemen's agreement they made with the commissioners." Perkins said referring to a May 8 meeting in Mineral County According to minutes taken at that commissioners' meeting, attended by JOB and BPA officials, the commissioners were told that about 60 percent of the powerline workers would be from the area.

George Eskridge, BPA spokesman in Montana, said he will attend the meeting as an observer. He said the contractor has no obligation to hire local workers but is trying to hire as many as it can. Murray said many of the company's employees are local meaning they're from throughout Montana and Idaho. He said people are fired only if their perform just harassment and attendance would be useless. 'We don't feel that we have any reason to go to any meeting," he said.

"I'm certainly too busy to go listen to something like this." A spokeswoman for the company in Spokane said she wasn't aware of the meeting and couldn't find out if anyone planned to attend. Perkins said the meeting will take place even if company officials refuse to come. It will start at 7 p.m. at Superior High School. Sparking the meeting is the popular belief that the company one of four main contractors building the line from Garrison to Taft for the Bonneville Power Administration has not hired enough local people and is too quick to fire those it SUPERIOR A former powerline worker has called a meeting to air grievances against one of the firms building twin 500 kilovolt lines through Mineral County.

But officials of the firm may not be at the Tuesday meeting, despite what the organizer said he was promised. Ray Perkins, who lives in Superior and was fired by JOB Line Construction Inc. after working eight days, said the company's Spokane office told him representatives would attend. But O.L. "Junior" Murray, who is in charge of the company's road and right-of-way clearing work, said no one in the Montana office would be there.

Murry said he thought the meeting was issinq priest still not found By DENNIS JONES Correspondent not believe it was used to bury Kerrigan. A white cardboard box, also found in the trunk and blood-stained, was still taped shut and was labeled "wallets. That box, containing wallets and money which belonged to Kerrigan, was packed by a housekeeper in Plains. Kerrigan moved from Plains to Ronan July 18 to pastor the Sacred Heart Parish. Meanwhile, police say they may interview two escapees from the Swan River Youth Camp who were apprehended in Billings Monday.

That interview may wait for results from the investigation of Kerrigan's car. Daniel Radi. 18, and Ronald Dodd, 21, were arrested by Billings police following the investigation of several burglaries which occurred in the Billings area during the past few days. Radi and Dodd, along with two other men, escaped from the Swan River Correction Center the day before Kerrigan's disappearance. Harold Gleed, 21, and Kenneth Allen, 21, were captured the following day near Superior and charged with robbing a store near Evaro and abducting and sexually assaulting a young woman who worked at the store.

Because the escapees were reported seen in Ronan the night Kerrigan disappeared, Lake County authorities have interviewed Gleed and Allen twice in the Missoula County Jail. POLSON Police made no progress Monday in their search for missing Catholic priest John Kerrigan who disappeared from Ronan July 21. Kerrigan's car. with blood stains in the front seat and in the trunk, was found Sunday afternoon parked in a pasture near Poison. Lake County Undersheriff Joe Geldrich said Monday that evidence was being collected from Kerrigan's car by an investigator from Helena.

Results of that investigation will not be complete for a couple of days, Geldrich said. Also Monday, members of Lake County Search and Rescue combed roads, fields, irrigation ditches and canals in the lower reservoir valley south of Poison but found no trace of the priest. An airplane also was used in the search. Police questioned numerous residents in the Mountain View and Turtle Lake areas east of Poison in an effort to get information relating to the case. Kerrigan's parked car went undetected for more than a week, even though it was only 100 yards from police antennas and television relay installations on a hill overlooking Poison and a few hundred yards south of the city limits.

The car's trunk contained a blood-stained pillow and shovel but, because there was rust on the blade of the shovel, authorities do Search widens for men ENNIS (AP) The search for two mountain men accused of kidnapping Kari Swenson and killing Alan Goldstein is "by no means abandoned," says Madison County Sheriff Johnny France. "Really, we've broadened our search" beyond the Big Sky resort area and the mountain ranges of the area, says France. The sheriff says he is not sure whether Don Nichols, 53, and his son Dan, 19, are still in the area. "One day I think they're gone and the next day I think they're still here," he said. "If they're still here, they are quite well holed-up.

They have really avoided any detection." Both the father and son are charged with kidnapping Swenson, 22, while she was jogging on a backcountry road near Big Sky on July 15. She has said they wanted her to become a "mountain woman." Dan Nichols is accused of accidentally wounding Swenson with a pistol, and Don Nichols is charged with deliberate homicide in the shooting death of Goldstein, Swen-son's would-be rescuer. Horseback patrols and airplane surveillance flights are continuing in cooperation with adjacent Gallatin County and the Forest Service, and the FBI is checking out-of-state leads, France said. France said searches have been made in the Tobacco Root and Hil-gaard mountains, the Gravelly Range, Yellowstone National Park and the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming, among others. Last Thursday France and some deputies took a 15-mile horseback ride into the mountains, then walked five miles through deadfall 8- 10-feet high and knee-deep swamps, he said.

"It looked like the place had never been touched by human hands," France said. Nevertheless, the searchers found the remains of a camp that he thinks belonged to the Nichols father and son, although it had not been used recently. He said two or three similar camps have been found, but none appeared recent. France still maintains that the Nicholses will be caught, although it may not be for a long time. Meanwhile, life is almost back to normal in the resort town of Big Sky.

"The Gallatin Canyon is as attractive as it's ever been," said Kevin Kelleher, editor of the Lone Peak Lookout. "It (the shooting) is old news now and it's not on the front page." "There's a business-as-usual attitude," Kelleher said. "That's not to say we've forgotten about what happened to Alan Goldstein. "The people here are very concerned about the way it was handled (by authorities)," he said. Kelleher said that in this week's edition of his newspaper, he criticized the Gallatin and Madison County sheriff's departments for delaying the start of the search for Swenson and then calling the manhunt off after a few days.

"If it had been a grizzly mauling, they'd still be looking for the bear," Kelleher said. "The people here either want to forget it. or they're so angry they want to vent their frustrations." However, Kelleher and others say the incident has not hurt the tourist trade. Committee tries to help clarify landowners' rights DENNIS JONESCorrMpondent The committee also heard testimony from landowners who feared damage to their land. The only testimony in support of the Supreme Court's rulings came from Pete Test, president of Montana Trout Unlimited.

The committee asked the legislative staff to: Develop legislation prohibiting recreationalists from acquiring easement rights to trails on private lands used to get to a waterway. Define the high water mark as "the line the water impresses on the land by covering it sufficiently to show characteristic lack of terrestrial vegetation" or other clear evidence. HELENA An interim legislative committee spent more than 13 hours Monday grappling with ways to clarify the rights of landowners and sportsmen to help head off potential conflicts over expanded use of waterways. In two recent decisions, the state high court held that any streams that can be used for recreational purposes are open to the public up to the high water mark. House Minority Leader Bob Marks, R-Clancy, chastised Fish and Wildlife Director Jim Flynn for not including extra money in next year's budget request to deal with the court-ordered changes.

Pole pointers Eric Greene gives fellow Bigfork resident Helen Gabrielson some pointers on fishing off the bridge in Bigfork one recent sunny day. Champion talking with firm about selling smaller area mills By GREG LAKES Correspondent Eastern Montana fires brought under control By The Associated Press return little profit. He said as part of Champion, the mills incur overhead costs higher than they would with a smaller administrative staff. And if independently owned, the new owners would probably be eligible to bid on more Forest Service timber, a problem that Champion officials say has plagued the mills for years. Under Forest Service regulations, roughly one-third the volume of national forest timber sales in a six-month period must go to companies with fewer than 500 employees.

If it doesn't, the Forest Service sets aside the volume for the next six months and only small businesses can bid. Champion officials have said that shuts them out of timber that could keep the mills running. In response, Bitterroot National Forest officials have juggled timber programs and sale specifications to make more smaller sales available at less cost. They note Champion still doesn't bid on them. The Conner stud periodically depletes its inventory of logs and closes, laying off its employees.

The latest closure came last Friday. Kelly said the closure, which idled 47 workers, is unrelated to talks over the mill's sale He said the Conner mill again has run out of logs and will close indefinitely until the yard fills up again. The Darby planer mill's 20 employees will continue operations until present orders are filled, a period Kelly estimated at 10 to 15 days If the Conner mill hasn't reopened by then, the Darby facility also will close HAMILTON Champion International Corp. officials again are negotiating the sale of the company's Conner and Darby mills and have traded proposals with prospective buyers. Champion spokesman Bob Kelly said Monday the firm and two Idaho men have reached preliminary agreement on the price and terms of the sale, but still are negotiating language in the buy-sell agreement.

Kelly said the men, employed in other wood-products or related business, have asked their names not be divulged until the sale is final. He said if the sale price is ever made public, it will be after the mills change hands and at the discretion of the buyers. Both sides have been bargaining for about two months, Kelly said, and each has presented the other with a draft agreement. So far, neither has been accepted. "We're not pushing them real hard and they're not pressing us real hard," Kelly said.

Kelly said Champion has not advertised the mill for sale but is responding to inquiries from "serious" buyers. Last July, officials announced they had signed an agreement in principal to sell the mills to a Princeton. Idaho, firm, Bennett Forest Industries. Inc. A week later, they announced Bennett had backed out and the deal was off.

Kelly said Champion would like to sell the mills to ensure employment for the workers and because they Crews controlled two major range and timber fires in Montana on Monday and contained another as cooler weather helped out. The 431-acre McNeil Ridge Fire on the Fort Belknap Reservation was controlled at 6 a.m.. said John Gibson, public information specialist with the Forest Service in Billings. He said crews totaling about 275 people were being released, except for local patrols. Also, he said, the Northfork Fire in the Little Snowy Mountains southeast of Lewistown was controlled at 6 p.m.

after burning 400 acres. He said the 275 firefighters would be released Tuesday Both fires started Friday but their causes aren't known. Meanwhile, about 120 firefighters managed to contain the Eagle Cry Fire on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation after a difficult day of fighting flames in heavy slash." Gibson said He said that fire, started by lightning on Sunday, should be controlled by Tuesday morning Several other smaller fires were started by a lightning storm Sunday in the Custer National Forest and on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations. Gibson said, but all but one had been contained. That was the four-acre Hawkeye fire 10 miles southeast of Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne reservation.

Gibson said an attempt was made to drop smokejumpers into the area, but high winds turned back the effort.