This piece originally appeared at Green Tape.
The text of Senator Zolnikov’s LC3109 dropped earlier this week. The bill focuses on reducing MEPA’s litigation burden by removing incentives to sue and limiting opportunities for multiple rounds of litigation.
If this were any other year, LC3109 would be the permitting reform story for the next few months — but with CEQ authority gone and reconciliation upon us, the bill will mostly fly under the radar.
First, a quick summary of the situation in Montana from an earlier Green Tape post:
Montana has been feeling the pain of permitting—and in particular their state NEPA, “MEPA”—for a very long time. The Black Butte Copper Mine spent nearly 14 years fighting through the permitting process, only securing its final permit in February 2024 after a contentious Supreme Court battle. The Coyote Wind Project, which would have powered over 27,500 homes, was abandoned after MEPA litigation delays made the project unfeasible. These aren't isolated incidents – Montana's environmental review process has become a reliable tool for project opponents to create delays and uncertainty that can kill even the most environmentally conscious developments.
Montana's MEPA problems are driven by two key forces: a line in the state constitution that guarantees Montanans a "right to a clean and healthful environment," and a left-leaning Montana Supreme Court that has interpreted that line exceptionally broadly, striking down the legislature's efforts at MEPA reform on more than one occasion. In Lucky Minerals, the court declared unconstitutional a 2011 MEPA amendment that would have prevented courts from voiding or suspending permits after they had been issued. This year, the Held v. Montana decision blocked several legislative reforms that would have limited the scope of MEPA reviews.
All of this means that MEPA reform is both a) pressing and b) must be narrowly tailored to avoid running up against the state constitution. In my opinion, workable reforms in Montana fall into two main categories:
