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…
What is this lawsuit about?This case is about government transparency, public participation, and environmental accountability. It challenges DEQ’s June 2025 approval of a new sewer pipeline in Big Sky that was authorized without any public notice, opportunity for public participation,…
Waterkeeper Comment Calls Out Dept. of Environmental Quality for Ignoring Science, Law, and Gallatin River Algal Blooms On Friday, January 10, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) public comment period regarding Phase 2 of the Quarry Subdivision in Big…
No doubt you’ve heard about the impaired Gallatin River and the proposed multi-phase Quarry Subdivision in Big Sky’s Canyon Area a lot over the last few years. As the public is faced with yet ANOTHER new source of pollution proposed…
Last week, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in our lawsuit challenging DEQ’s authorization of new wastewater discharges from Phase I of the Quarry Subdivision. The Quarry Subdivision is a new, multi-phase major residential and commercial development…
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)….
Montana DEQ’s Draft Environmental Assessment on the Quarry Planned Unit Development contains a multitude of issues: Project Segmentation into Phases Avoids Traditional Regulatory Scrutiny: Using Dozens of Septic Systems to Avoid Pollution Control Permitting: Ignores Cumulative Impacts in Violation of…
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…
