State Violated Constitutional Right to Know and Right to Participate in Agency Decision-Making On Friday, October 13, 2023, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and its members filed a complaint against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for its approval of the…
Lawsuit Will Proceed to the Merits Yesterday, the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District Court in Gallatin County denied the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) motion to dismiss the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper v. Montana Department of Environmental Quality lawsuit challenging the authorization…
This week, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper documented and notified the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) of a miles-long neon-green noxious algal bloom emerging on the Big Hole River downstream of Divide. The new algal bloom adds to the suite of…
The U.S. Supreme Court dramatically curtailed Clean Water Act protections with its ruling in Sackett v. EPA, favoring polluters over the health of wetlands and headwater creeks across Montana and the nation. Let’s back up. What was the Sackett v….
Sandhill Subdivision Lacked Sufficient Studies of Impacts to Local Water On Tuesday, May 9th, the Gallatin County Commission denied the preliminary plat application for the Sandhill Major Subdivision, a proposed 34-lot subdivision south of Kagy Blvd in Bozeman reliant on…
Gallatin County Commission Should Deny Application On Tuesday, April 25th, the Gallatin County Planning Board rubber-stamped a preliminary plat application for the Sandhill Major Subdivision, a new 34-lot subdivision south of Bozeman city limits reliant on exempt wells and septic…
Nutrient pollution levels too high to support aquatic life, recreation Today, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) formally declared the middle segment of the Gallatin River ‘impaired’ by algal blooms under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA)….
As of March 2023 there are three unique legal actions underway, each of which may affect the scope of headwaters protection for waterways across the United States, and especially for arid intermountain states like Montana whose stream miles include >…
Subdivision Water Pollution Permit Declared Unlawful After DEQ Failed to Consider Cumulative Impacts On November 16, the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District Court in Gallatin County released a ruling in favor of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Montana Environmental Information Center…
Letter Requests Governor Revoke Unlawful Subdivision Approval On Wednesday, October 26, a coalition of nearly 100 concerned Broadwater County residents submitted a letter to Governor Gianforte requesting the administration correct the wrongdoings of its water rights agency regarding the approval…
