News Archives - Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC https://meic.org/category/media-center/news/ Clean and healthful. It's your right, our mission. Mon, 06 Oct 2025 17:27:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://meic.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cropped-MEIC_whitesmall-32x32.png News Archives - Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC https://meic.org/category/media-center/news/ 32 32 Press Release: Groups challenge Montana’s second rubberstamp of methane gas plant near Laurel https://meic.org/groups-challenge-montanas-second-rubberstamp-of-methane-gas-plant-near-laurel/ Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:42:17 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39573 The Department of Environmental Quality failed to adequately evaluate climate impacts for a second time, despite an order from the Montana Supreme Court   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 29, 2025 CONTACTS Meridian Wappett, Western Environmental Law Center, 208-596-9870, wappett@westernlaw.org Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, pwheeler@earthjustice.org Anne Hedges, Montana Environmental Information Center, 406-461-9546, ahedges@meic.org   Conservation groups today …

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]]> Forest Service Nears Ruling on Libby Exploration Project https://meic.org/forest-service-nears-ruling-on-libby-exploration-project/ Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:59:22 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39590 By Katie Bartlett, Flathead Beacon While Baker stepped down in 2024, Montana Environmental Information Center Policy Associate Ben Catton, who contributed to the EarthJustice objection, believes that the “culture and values he represented are likely to still be present at Hecla.”   Read the full story.

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]]> Montana PSC, NorthWestern Energy Clash Over Large-Load Customer Rules https://meic.org/montana-psc-northwestern-energy-clash-over-large-load-customer-rules/ Tue, 09 Sep 2025 19:54:22 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39585 By Ayla Burnett, ClearingUp News Data The Montana Public Service Commission (MPSC) on Sept. 3 sent a letter to NorthWestern Energy requesting more information about how it plans to serve new, large-load customers—signaling the latest turn in a dispute over the utility’s intent to service two Montana data centers. MPSC decided to send the letter …

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]]> Montana DEQ Denies Petition to Loosen Lake Koocanusa Selenium Standard https://meic.org/montana-deq-denies-petition-to-loosen-lake-koocanusa-selenium-standard/ Wed, 03 Sep 2025 20:01:31 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39592 By Tristan Scott, Flathead Beacon The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has denied a petition by the board of commissioners in Lincoln County seeking to loosen the state’s site-specific regulatory cap on the mining byproduct selenium, which is leaching out of coal mines in British Columbia and contaminating the international watershed at Lake Koocanusa, …

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]]> Climate petition denied by Montana Public Service Commission https://meic.org/climate-petition-denied-by-montana-public-service-commission/ Tue, 02 Sep 2025 20:19:05 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39595 By Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan In a decision that drew immediate pushback, the Montana Public Service Commission voted unanimously Tuesday against declaring the constitution requires it to consider the adverse impacts of climate change in its work. The PSC also disagreed it must consider climate in a set of statutes outlined in a petition filed …

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]]> Rosebud Mine expansion approved in Montana, sparking environmental debate https://meic.org/rosebud-mine-expansion-approved-in-montana-sparking-environmental-debate/ Tue, 05 Aug 2025 16:04:21 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39154 By Bowen West, NBC Montana The Department of the Interior has approved a major expansion of the Rosebud Mine in Rosebud and Treasure counties, Montana, authorizing the recovery of approximately 33.75 million tons of federal coal and extending the mine’s operation through 2039.   Read the full story.

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]]> Trump expands Montana mine to feed high-emission power plants https://meic.org/trump-expands-montana-mine-to-feed-high-emission-power-plants/ Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:59:45 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39146 By Hannah Northey, E&E News The Rosebud coal mine near Colstrip is at the center of a long legal battle over air pollution and heat-trapping gas. It is slated to operate until 2039. The Interior Department has signed off on the expansion of a Montana coal mine to feed high-emission power plants in yet another …

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]]> Press Release: Montana DEQ releases sparse environmental assessment for NorthWestern Energy’s methane gas plant https://meic.org/press-release-montana-deq-releases-sparse-environmental-assessment-for-northwestern-energys-methane-gas-plant/ Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:58:36 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39108 DEQ’s court-order analysis includes one sentence about climate impacts of fossil fuel plant FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 4, 2025 MEDIA CONTACTS Jenny Harbine | Earthjustice | 406.586.9699 | jharbine@earthjustice.org Anne Hedges | MEIC | 406.443.2520 | ahedges@meic.org   MONTANA – The leadership of the Montana Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) wasted taxpayer dollars and ignored …

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]]> NorthWestern wants to supply new AI data center with enough electricity for 800K homes https://meic.org/northwestern-wants-to-supply-new-ai-data-center-with-enough-electricity-for-800k-homes/ Fri, 01 Aug 2025 16:02:21 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39152 By David Erickson, Missoulian Late Tuesday night, NorthWestern Energy announced it has signed a letter of intent to supply as much as 1,000 megawatts (one gigawatt) of electricity by the year 2030 to a proposed data center in Montana run by a Texas-based company called Quantica Infrastructure. That is an enormous, mind-boggling amount of power. …

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]]> Montana Congressional delegation’s public lands bait-and-switch https://meic.org/viewpoint-congressional-delegation-bait-and-switch-on-public-lands/ Tue, 22 Jul 2025 21:31:44 +0000 https://meic.org/?p=39025 By Anne Hedges, Daily Montanan You can’t take your bird dog hunting on lands being mined or filled with oil rigs, even if they are “public” lands. While Montanans were right to celebrate removing the sale of public lands from the recent Congressional budget bill, some may not know that our representatives still voted to …

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