Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality disapproving of core sections of Senate Bill 358 which replaced numeric nutrient standards of Montana water with more subjective narrative standards. Northern News Network’s Eric Young reports.
Montana DEQ Receives Federal Funding For Mine Cleanup
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality will receive over $4 million annually for the next 15 years to address abandoned mine lands. Northern News Network’s Eric Young reports.
New Plan To Reduce Sky Haze In Montana Released
The state Department of Environmental Quality is required by the federal Regional Haze Rule to reduce the state’s haziest conditions and protect still-clear skies for certain mandated federal lands through 2064. The state’s haze reduction plans through 2028 largely do coincide with general state and federal efforts to reduce air pol...
Montana DEQ Exploring Changes For Water-Quality Standards
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is considering new rules for a law passed in 2021 that changed water quality standards and opponents say it could roll back current standards across the state. Andrew Gorder with the Clark Fork Coalition says the state needs the ones being used now to protect waterways that are essential to Monta...
DEQ Looking To Address Reduced Air Quality In Montana
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality’s 20 air quality monitors across the state flagged more days in 2021 for diminished air quality than any year in the past decade. The DEQ is now asking for $450,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act grant funding to bolster its monitoring network with a focus on improving coverage in unde...
New Water Quality Standards May Not Address Suburban Impact
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is considering new rules for a law passed in 2021 that changed water-quality standards, which opponents say could roll back those standards across the state. Former Helena public works director John Lundquist says wastewater from Montana’s growing suburban development is a major source of nutrien...
New Grant Announced To Replace Old School Buses
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has awarded six school districts with clean school bus replacement grants to help them replace older diesel school buses with newer diesel propane and gasoline models to help reduce air pollution. The grants go to the Columbia Falls, East Helena, Frenchtown, Harlem, Kalispell and the Twin Bridges...
Montana DEQ Sued By Environmental Coalition
A coalition of environmental groups and Indian tribes have sued the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The suit revolves around efforts to mine for copper and silver under the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness near Libby by Hecla Mining Company and its Chief Executive Officer Phillips Baker who was also an executive of Pegasus Gold Incorp...
Environmental Groups File Lawsuit Against Montana DEQ
The Montana Environmental Information Center and Sierra Club have filed a lawsuit against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. They say it ignored the state’s Constitution when permitting a NorthWestern Energy gas-fired power plant in Laurel. They cite the power plant’s contribution to local air and water pollution and withou...
DEQ Reaches Agreement For Colstrip Power Plant Cleanup
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Talen Montana LLC have reached a settlement agreement for the cleanup of two coal ash ponds at the Colstrip Power Plant. Northern News Network’s Eric Young has the details. https://northernbroadcasting.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/10-20_637.mp3