A year ago, we warned that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was considering creating a massive loophole in the Clean Water Act. EPA is now moving forward with this and has released an interpretation of the Act that would…
A victory for healthy rivers and fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in Montana! The federal district court in Great Falls just issued an order in our long-standing lawsuit, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper v. EPA , holding that Montana’s 17-20 year general variance scheme and…
We’re tracking bad legislation each Montana session that could undermine environmental protections for waterways and communities. Below are summaries of two nasty bills that would weaken key protections for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in Montana. HB 625: Scrapping Science-Based Water…
Background The Trump EPA has released a proposed rule that will dramatically reduce the scope of waters protected by the Clean Water Act. This proposal is the worst rollback of Clean Water Act protections in history. The proposal redefines what…
Oil and gas leasing on 12,889 acres of public land in Beaverhead and Madison counties has been deferred indefinitely, once again, by the BLM. While this decision is certainly a small victory for the Beaverhead and Big Hole, and make…
Bill S. 3303 would significantly limit the power of states to deny projects that would have severe environmental impacts on water quality. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act gives states the power to protect their waterways from federally-licensed projects…
Land use planning – from stream setbacks to clustering and density – is an important pollution prevention and control strategy. One example of progressive land use planning in Montana is the Story Mill Community Park. Millions of public & private…
The Madison River is not only a key headwater to the Missouri, it is also one of Montana’s most heavily used rivers. In the face of mounting fishing pressure Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks are undertaking a new River Recreation…
We work with communities and citizens to take a strong stance on the hard issues – to defend our waterways and communities from projects that would do harm, and to fight for and secure new regulations and protections that will provide critical defense and progress in the future.
Upper Missouri Waterkeeper enforces clean water laws and advocates for strong, new rules that will provide critical defense in the future.
We’re tackling complex issues like stormwater runoff permits, nutrient pollution, and outdated pollution prevention rules.
Upper Missouri Waterkeeper is the only Montana nonprofit organization monitoring the breadth of the Upper Missouri River Basin for pollution.
