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Montana state agencies would be allowed to charge members of the public or groups for commenting on environmental reviews under a law passed by a House committee this week. Rep. Denley Loge, R-St. Regis, said he brought House Bill 695 to the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday in part to discourage submission of form letters as public comment on environmental impact statements, or EISs. The bill would allow an agency while conducting public comment for an EIS to charge a fee for any written or emailed public comment, but would not charge a fee for commenting during a public hearing...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A lawmaker in Montana has proposed legislation intended to let...

A Busby lawmaker is proposing legislation intended to let Big Horn County negotiate a collection agreement with a troubled coal company that owes more than $8 million in delinquent taxes to the county. The proposal has the backing of county officials and Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC), which bought the debt-saddled Spring Creek Mine from its bankrupt parent company last year. But some Democratic lawmakers and at least one environmental group have warned that the bill could allow NTEC or other companies to ultimately pay less than they owe. Senate Bill 154, sponsored by Republican Sen. ...

High-voltage electrical lines run from coal-fired generating plants in Colstrip, Montana. (Photo: David Reese) (CN) — A Montana judge on Wednesday ruled that the federal government ignored the health, air pollution and greenhouse-gas consequences of hauling and burning more coal from Montana’s largest coal mine.  In a rebuke of the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Judge Susan Watters ruled the agency failed to disclose the full impacts of expanding southeastern Montana’s Spring Creek mine, the largest in the state. Watters said the agency ignored federal law by failing to address the imp...

Victory: Ruling rejects company’s bid to rely on decades-old pollution standards to contaminate streams Contacts Bonnie Gestring, Earthworks, (406) 546-8386, bgestring@earthworksaction.org Derf Johnson, MEIC, (406) 581-4634, djohnson@meic.org Helena, MT — Yesterday in a victory for clean water, the Montana Supreme Court rejected a key pollution permit for the proposed Montanore silver-copper mine in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness in Northwest Montana. The Court ruled that Idaho-based Hecla Mining Company and its subsidiary Montanore Minerals Corporatio...