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Full-Text Articles in Law
Held V. State, Alec D. Skuntz
Held V. State, Alec D. Skuntz
Public Land & Resources Law Review
On March 13, 2020, a group of 16 Montana children and teenagers filed a complaint in the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County against the State of Montana and several state agencies. These young Plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief against Defendants for their complicity in continuing to extract and release harmful amounts of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. Plaintiffs premised their argument on the Montana Constitution’s robust environmental rights and protections. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss which the District Court granted in-part and denied in-part. Held provides a roadmap for future litigation by elucidating …
Meic V. Deq, Kirsten D. Gerbatsch
Meic V. Deq, Kirsten D. Gerbatsch
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Hecla Mining Company and its subsidiaries want to develop two industrial silver and copper mines––the Montanore and Rock Creek projects––beneath northwest Montana’s Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. Environmental organizations, in just one of a series of legal challenges to protect high-quality designated resource waters and unique bull trout and grizzly bear habitat, brought an action seeking a declaration that Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s issuance of a permit for the Montanore Project was unlawful. The Montana Supreme Court, in a four-member majority, affirmed the district court’s vacatur and remanded the case to the state agency for further proceedings. The decision is celebrated …
Montana Environmental Information Center V. Department Of Environmental Quality, Anthony P. Reed
Montana Environmental Information Center V. Department Of Environmental Quality, Anthony P. Reed
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The DEQ renewed a 1999 MPDES Permit on September 14, 2012 that allowed Western Energy Company to discharge pollutants from the Rosebud Mine into streams. Environmental groups MEIC and the Sierra Club sued, arguing this violated both the Montana Water Quality Act and federal Clean Water Act because the DEQ’s interpretation of its own regulations that exempted waters with ephemeral characteristics from water quality standards was arbitrary and capricious. The district court agreed, but the Montana Supreme Court reversed. It held the DEQ’s interpretation was lawful and remanded for further fact finding to assess how the DEQ applied the interpretation …
Bitterrooters For Planning, Inc. V. Montana Department Of Environmental Quality, Rebecca A. Newsom
Bitterrooters For Planning, Inc. V. Montana Department Of Environmental Quality, Rebecca A. Newsom
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In Bitterrooters for Planning, Inc. v. Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the Montana Supreme Court found that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality did not violate the Montana Environmental Policy Act when the department issued a wastewater discharge permit for a large retail merchandise store. This decision enforced a narrow interpretation of agency requirements under the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Act, focusing only on direct effects with a close causal connection to the agency action.