Committee rejects bill to let permit appeals skip Board of Environmental Review

Helena — The Senate Natural Resources Committee declined to advance Senate Bill 559 on a 4-7 roll-call vote after proponents said the measure would speed up long-running permit appeals and opponents warned it would shift disputes into court and could halt operations.

Senator Janet Ellis, sponsor of SB 559, said the bill ‘‘would allow both industry and members of the public to choose a streamlined process for appealing permit decisions made by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.’’ She said the current four-step appeal path through the Board of Environmental Review and hearing examiners is slow and costly.

Supporters described multiple examples of long, expensive BER appeals. Gayla Nicholson of Protect the Clearwater testified the department issued an open-cut mine permit ‘‘without evaluating potential damage to ground and surface water’’ and that her group’s appeal required specialized experts and dozens of filings. Graham Coppes, a natural-resources attorney, said BER appeals can ‘‘be a place where cases go to die’’ and criticized frequent turnover among hearing examiners.

Opponents included business and industry groups that urged defeat. Brian Thompson, testifying for the Montana Chamber of Commerce and Northwestern Energy, said the bill ‘‘opens another avenue to lawsuits and district courts’’ and questioned whether district court suits would be faster or cheaper. George Harris of the Montana Coal Council warned a district court could grant injunctions that BER cannot, potentially stopping permitted operations while a case is litigated.

David Simpson, chair of the Board of Environmental Review, told the committee the board ‘‘has not taken a position on SB 559’’ but cautioned that longstanding legal principles require exhaustion of administrative remedies before going to district court. Simpson said BER cleared 12 cases in the last fiscal year and acknowledged the board shares frustration with delay in particularly protracted matters.

Committee members probed both sides. Senator Gillespie cited examples of appeals lasting years and asked whether there was a better alternative; Simpson and proponents urged administrative fixes but noted prior bills and rule changes have been tried. Senator Usher questioned why the bill addressed only appeals of granted permits; Ellis said she would be open to amendments.

When Vice Chair moved a due-pass motion, the committee called a roll-call vote. The tally recorded four yes votes (Senators Curti, Harvey, Morgeau by proxy and Flowers) and seven no votes (Chair Gault, Vice Chair Cuff, Senators Gillespie, Noland, Usher, Vinton and Zollnikov by proxy). The motion failed.

The hearing record includes testimony from environmental groups, local residents who said appeals have required six-figure legal bills, industry and contractors who called BER important for creating a record for courts, and DEQ and BER officials available for questions.

With the bill defeated in committee, no further committee action was recorded on SB 559 during this session.