Major Water Infrastructure Project Demands Careful Vetting, Transparency, and Public Involvement Last week, the Gallatin County Commission sent a letter calling on the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to transparently evaluate the potentially significant economic, social, ecological, and cultural…
Prior to any data center development proposals approvals, baseline and commonsense water use and pollution protections should be established at the state and local level. Many states and counties across the country are establishing commonsense water protections. For an arid…
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…
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,…
Agreement Reaffirms the Importance of Fee Recovery for Public-Interest Litigation Last week, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper reached a settlement in the Horse Creek Hills case, recouping the multi-year costs necessary to securing a precedential victory that protected senior water property rights…
Last week, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposal to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), further undermining clean water protections and threatening water quality across Montana and the country. The proposal, which…
The proposed TAC Data Center development northeast of Great Falls, between Malmstrom Air Force Base and the Missouri River, by Ardent Tech, released its option to lease 569 acres of land as announced by the Great Falls Development Alliance Council…
