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…
Federal Oversight Agency Has Yet To Address Unlawful Rollbacks of Water Quality Standards Today, March 24, 2022, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper filed a complaint against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failure to perform its mandatory duty under the Clean…
DEQ Failed to Address Concerns Raised by Conservation Groups and Montana Citizens On Friday, March 11th, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) finalized New Rule 1 as proposed, the first of a two part rulemaking process to amend ARM…
Technical Comments Call Out the Dept. of Environmental Quality’s Disingenuous, Unlawful Rulemaking Process For Polluters Upper Missouri Waterkeeper submitted technical comments alongside the Montana Environmental Information Center and Montana Trout Unlimited on the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) proposed amendment…
Narrative Standards Set Forth in Senate Bill 358 Remain Unapproved by Federal Oversight Agency Today, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper filed a Notice of Intent to Sue to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to comply with its mandatory duty…
Narrative nutrient pollution control criteria are problematic for protecting the health of local water quality, yet Governor Gianforte and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality are pushing forward with the implementation of narrative water quality standards in pollution permitting decisions….
The 2015 Montana Legislature passed – and Gov. Bullock failed to veto – SB 325. This bill sets up a loophole that prohibits state env’tl regulatory agencies from setting water quality protections that are strong enough to protect Montana’s rivers and…
Earlier today Upper Missouri Waterkeeper sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its approval of Montana’s weak, so-called ‘variance standards’ for nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. These variance standards displace strong, science-based pollution limits Montana earlier found necessary to protect waterways and fisheries….
Every three years the state of Montana must open up its water quality standards for rivers, lakes, and streams and review, revise, develop or adopt changes necessary to protect public health and welfare, enhance the quality of water, and serve the…
Last December 2014 we sent the EPA a Notice of Intent to Sue for their failure to take mandatory action on Montana’s recently submitted numeric nutrient water quality standards. EPA acknowledged it was legally required to take action on Montana’s rule…
