Federal Approval of Montana’s Numeric Nutrient Standards Repeal Threatens Clean Water Protections Nationwide Upper Missouri Waterkeeper is raising the alarm that the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could set a dangerous, polluter-friendly precedent by approving the State of Montana’s…
1. What happened to Montana’s numeric nutrient criteria?In Spring 2025, the Montana Legislature passed and Governor Gianforte signed HB 664, a piece of legislation that rolls back numeric nutrient water quality standards for all water pollution control and water restoration…
Taking EPA to Court to Defend Montana’s WatersThis week, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and Flathead Lakers filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving Montana’s repeal of science-based limits on nutrient pollution for our waterways. EPA’s…
Unscientific Gutting Of Clean Water Protections Contrary to Federal Law, Putting Montana Waterway Health At Risk On Monday, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and Flathead Lakers filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving the State of…
State’s Refusal to Use Available Data to Identify Impaired Waters is Egregious and Unlawful Last week, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper submitted a letter to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in response to its call for public comment on the 2022-2024…
DEQ Proposal Disregards Best Available Science This week, conservation groups Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Montana Environmental Information Center submitted a comment letter to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) highlighting major deficiencies in the proposed assessment methodology for…
Published in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Daily Interlake, Missoulian. Recent op-eds argue against litigation as a mechanism to protect our rivers and water rights. They claimed that litigation supporting instream flows for river health limits state agency flexibility and that…
On November 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps announced a proposed rule that will narrowly define “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in a way that will drastically eliminate federal Clean Water Act…
Lawsuit Seeks to Hold Government Accountable for Ignoring Public Participation and Environmental Review of Major Water Infrastructure Project Today, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper announced a lawsuit against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for its approval of a major new…
Upper Missouri Waterkeeper has filed a new lawsuit against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to defend Montanans’ constitutional rights to meaningful public participation opportunities in government decision-making, and to demand comprehensive environmental reviews for significant public sewage infrastructure…
