MTPR

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

Judge Revokes Rock Creek Mine Water Permit

By • Apr 15, 2019
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

A state judge has revoked the water permit for a silver and copper mine proposed beneath a northwestern Montana wilderness area.

Judge Kathy Seeley said in a recent order that state officials did not adequately consider potential damage to nearby streams from Hecla Mining Company’s Rock Creek Mine.

State Budget Bill Is Flying Through The Legislature

By & UM Legislative News Service • Apr 9, 2019
Sen. Jon Sesso, D-Butte, speaks on the Montana Senate floor. Sesso serves as Senate Minority Leader.
Shaylee Ragar / UM Legislative News Service

HELENA -- Montana’s budget will return to the House of Representatives after it was amended in the Senate last week and passed 28-21 Monday.

Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Carl Glimm, a Republican from Kila, says it’s typical for the Senate to tweak House Bill 2, the legislation that outlines the state’s $10.3 billion, two-year budget.

Judge Rescinds Water Right For Creston Bottling Plant

By & • Mar 29, 2019
Site of the the proposed Montana Artesian Water Company bottling plant near Creston, MT.
Nicky Ouellet / Montana Public Radio

A district judge has rescinded a water right for a water bottling plant near Kalispell.

Montana Artesian Water Company was granted a permit early last year to draw 710 acre feet of water per year by the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Several groups appealed the permit, and on Tuesday Judge Kathy Seeley ruled in their favor.

Trump Administration Opens Western Lands to Energy Development, Strips Sage Grouse Protections

By • Mar 15, 2019
Greater sage-grouse.
USFWS

The Trump Administration today finalized plans that will open millions of acres in the West to oil and gas development and strip protections for a struggling greater sage-grouse.

State Agency Looks To More Logging, Improved Forest Health

By Amy Beth Hanson - Associated Press • Mar 8, 2019
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's forestry agency is working with federal, local and private organizations to increase logging on national forests to improve forest health and decrease the risk of disease and catastrophic fires.

State lawmakers are supporting a $2.2 million request from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to hire people to help implement the Good Neighbor Authority program.

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