The U.S. Supreme Court dramatically curtailed Clean Water Act protections with its ruling in Sackett v. EPA, favoring polluters over the health of wetlands and headwater creeks across Montana and the nation. Let’s back up. What was the Sackett v….
Tag: Upper Missouri Waterkeeper
SW Montana’s Jefferson Basin Trout at Historic Lows; Recruitment Class Absent
Governor Has Ignored Calls for Cold Water Fisheries Task Force Recent reporting from the Montana Standard exposed an emergency situation on the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, and Jefferson rivers. Wild trout populations in these rivers have plummeted to 50-year+ historic…
EPA Approves Gallatin River Impairment Designation
State of Montana Can Officially Begin the TMDL Clean-Up Process Recent reporting by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle covered the EPA’s approval of an “impairment” determination for the Middle Segment Gallatin River. This segment stretches from Yellowstone National Park downstream to…
Gallatin County Commission Rightfully Denied Major Subdivision Application
Sandhill Subdivision Lacked Sufficient Studies of Impacts to Local Water On Tuesday, May 9th, the Gallatin County Commission denied the preliminary plat application for the Sandhill Major Subdivision, a proposed 34-lot subdivision south of Kagy Blvd in Bozeman reliant on…
Proposed Sandhill Major Subdivision Violates Law and Threatens Clean Water Resources
Gallatin County Commission Should Deny Application On Tuesday, April 25th, the Gallatin County Planning Board rubber-stamped a preliminary plat application for the Sandhill Major Subdivision, a new 34-lot subdivision south of Bozeman city limits reliant on exempt wells and septic…
State of Montana Officially Declares Gallatin River ‘Impaired’
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)….
Dirty Water Bills Progress Through the Legislature
Bills Create More Problems Than Solutions; Ignore Water Quantity and Quality Issues Plaguing State’s Water Resources Recent reporting by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle highlights several concerning water bills that have made it through 2023 Montana Legislative Session transmittal, yet fail…
Unscientific, Politicized Repeal Efforts Put Montana’s Water at Risk
EPA’s New WOTUS Rule Faces Congressional Challenges Recent reporting by the Public News Service calls attention to Republicans’ efforts to challenge the Biden Administration’s new “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule that clarifies protections for Montana’s waterways under the…
Is Montana No Longer the Last Best Place?
One of the main jobs of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper is to protect the rights of our members and fight against projects that would do harm to our river valleys. Below we’ve shared an open letter from some of our members…
Gallatin County District Court Rules in Favor of Environmental Groups
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…