The Montana Supreme Court Friday affirmed a lower court ruling finding that state environmental regulators failed to assess the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a fossil fuel power plant.
The court’s 5-2 ruling means the state Department of Environmental Quality must redo its environmental assessment of NorthWestern Energy’s Yellowstone County Generating Station, on the banks of the Yellowstone River in Laurel.
The Supreme Court found the state's previous environmental assessment was insufficient. It also ruled the power plant’s air quality permit is valid, so the plant can continue to run while further impact analysis is created. The plant is projected to emit close to 770,000 tons of planet warming carbon dioxide every year.
The Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) and the Sierra Club sued DEQ over the original permitting decision.
Anne Hedges with MEIC says, "We're happy that the court reiterated that we have constitutional rights that are there to protect us and are supposed to be protecting us from state agencies and utilities who refuse to acknowledge that the climate crisis is having an impact."
NorthWestern Energy built and began running the power plant while these legal challenges played out. In a press release, the company praised the decision to reinstate the permit.
In an emailed statement to MTPR, DEQ Director Sonja Nowakowski wrote she was grateful the court agreed that DEQ’s review should not be thrown out and that DEQ looks forward to sharing further analysis of the potential impacts.
“I am grateful the Court agreed that DEQ’s substantive review of this permit should not be thrown out,” said DEQ Director Sonja Nowakowski. “Today’s decision means that this important energy resource can stay online to serve Montana. We look forward to sharing further analysis of the potential impacts from lighting and greenhouse gas emissions.”
