Montana’s Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is proposing significant changes to its groundwater pollution discharge permitting rules, and some of the changes are for the worse. In Montana, groundwater connectivity to nearby surface waters has been well documented and is…
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…
Attend a public listening session in Helena, Missoula, or online The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently announce a comment period and listening sessions on updating the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), a critical component of environmental permitting and…
Last August 2022, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and several of its members filed a lawsuit complaint against both Broadwater County and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) for their approval of the Horse Creek Hills subdivision, a major new…
Miles of Waterways Now Excluded from Federal Protection This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule after the Supreme Court ruled in the Sackett v. EPA wetlands litigation in May 2023….
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…
Waterkeeper and National Organizations File Comments to Improve Statewide CAFO Permitting Yesterday, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and several national organizations submitted technical comments to the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) on the proposed renewal of the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation…
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…
Increasing pollution, including the growing threat posed by nutrient pollution related to unrelenting development pressure, continues to challenge Montana’s clean water and world-class rivers. Once every three years, the Montana Department of Environmental Protection (DEQ) conducts a comprehensive review of…
You’ve likely seen the troubling news that trout populations in the Jefferson Basin including the Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Ruby Rivers, have crashed to 50-year lows. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ (FWP) own data show that brown and rainbow trout…
