ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20029
No(s). 2021 MT 44 (Mont. Feb 17, 2021)

The Montana Supreme Court reversed, 5-2, a lower court decision reversing the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's (DNRC's) issuance of a beneficial water use permit for a proposed silver and copper mine beneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. The mining company and DNRC appealed the lower court decision and environmental groups objected, arguing the Department's construction and application of the Montana Water Use Act (MWUA) denied them an adequate remedy to ensure the groundwater use associated with the mine would comply with applicable nondegradation standards under the Montana Water Quality Act (MWQA). The high court held that the lower court erroneously concluded that "legal demands" as referenced in the MWUA included and required DNRC consideration of whether the proposed water use complied with MWQA classifications, and related nondegradation standards and restrictions, applicable to source water supplies. It further held that the limited scope or manner of MWQA nondegradation review under the MWUA, incident to issuance of MWUA beneficial water use permits, did not violate the groups' fundamental right to a clean and healthful environment under the Montana Constitution. It therefore reversed the lower court decision and upheld the beneficial water use permit.