In August, a district court ruled DEQ must factor in climate impacts and greenhouse gas emissions while evaluating projects under the Montana Environmental Policy Act, or MEPA. The ruling came from the youth-led climate case Held v. Montana.
A working group tasked with reworking MEPA has published draft recommendations. But members disagree over how to conduct climate analyses.
Gordon Criswell from Talen Energy which operates Colstrip says agencies should only analyze a project’s direct greenhouse gas emissions.
"I believe indirect effects are difficult to quantify and are likely to result in double counting of emissions."
Other members say the group's recommendations don’t fairly balance the economic benefits of a proposed project with its contributions to climate change.
Anne Hedges, with the Montana Environmental Information Center, criticized Criswell’s argument.
"We believe that the full suite of emissions need to be accounted for. The idea that some people have mentioned, that we should only be looking at the direct emissions from diesel trucks traveling on a coal mine, when in fact all that coal has no other purpose other than to be burned, means that you are missing the majority of the impacts."
The Supreme Court in July will hear the state’s appeal of the Held case.
The Court’s ruling, and the 2025 legislative session could impact the suggestions the working group puts forward.
The working group will meet on June 27 to discuss its final recommendations.
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The Montana Supreme Court has rejected a petition from young climate activists to strike down several environmental laws. -
A group of young Montanans are asking the state Supreme Court to overturn new laws that weaken the state’s ability to regulate planet warming emissions, and exclude some fossil fuel projects from environmental review. This filing comes a year after they won a landmark ruling over Montana's constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment." -
After winning a landmark climate case at the state level last year, a group of young Montanans are taking the fight to the federal government. They presented their arguments to a judge in Missoula last week.
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A group of young people are suing the Trump Administration for prioritizing the use of fossil fuels - and driving up planet-warming emissions. The suit was filed Thursday morning in Montana’s federal court -
Sixteen young Montanan’s made headlines when they sued the state – and won – for failing to act on climate change. Republican state lawmakers lambasted the decision. They fast tracked a suite of bills during the 2025 legislative session to limit the ruling's impacts. -
Gov. Greg Gianforte Thursday signed into law a package of bills aimed at changing the state’s bedrock environmental policy. Lawmakers were eager to modify the policy following a landmark climate ruling in December. -
Legislators have voted forward bills on property tax relief, Medicaid expansion, judicial oversight and more. -
Policy that would change Montana’s bedrock environmental law will be taken up when lawmakers resume their work later this week.
