ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20262
No(s). DA 19-0492 (Mont. Dec 8, 2020)

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed in part a ruling that granted summary judgment for environmental groups in a challenge to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's (MDEQ's) approval of an exploration license for mining on private land north of Yellowstone National Park. The groups argued MDEQ did not comply with Montana Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) requirements in producing its final EA and FONSI, and in not preparing an EIS. The lower court had found MDEQ failed to take a "hard look" at the impacts of the project's expected road work on wildlife in the area, that its water quality analysis fell short under the MEPA, that the final EA provided only a "plan to make a plan" to contain expected artesian flow during drilling, that it failed to consider that the exploration could result in the licensee developing vested rights to mine on federal lands, and that it failed to conduct sufficient "independent analysis" of reasonable alternatives. It thus vacated the license and concluded that 2011 amendments to the MEPA, which barred equitable remedies for a MEPA violation, was unconstitutional under the Montana Constitution. The high court found that MDEQ met its obligation under the MEPA to consider alternatives, that the agency was not required to consider future potential mining on federal lands, and that it did take the requisite hard look at the relevant data before concluding there would be no significant impact from groundwater quality issues associated with the exploration. It therefore reversed the lower court ruling with respect to these issues, but affirmed its ruling in all other respects.