Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aquifer Protection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Representative seeks two-year study and temporary pause on large permits for Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer
Summary
Rep. Teal introduced a bill asking for a two-year study of the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer and, as drafted, a temporary pause on new large groundwater permits over the exempt-well threshold while the study proceeds; supporters cited artesian wells losing pressure and high replacement costs.
Representative (sponsor identified in the hearing as the sponsor and referred to by witnesses as Representative Teal) opened the hearing on House Bill 935 to raise concerns about declining water levels in the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer across eastern Montana. The sponsor said the aquifer spans large parts of eastern Montana and has shown long-term water-level declines; some landowners reported artesian wells losing pressure and said re-drilling to deeper zones can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The measure as presented included two elements: (1) a directive to the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to study aquifer characteristics and update water-level data, and (2) a temporary two-year suspension (a "may"/"shall" option in draft amendments) on granting new permits for withdrawals above the exempt-well threshold (35 gallons per minute / 10 acre-feet) within basins that tap the Fox Hills/Hell Creek formation. The sponsor said North Dakota has adopted a moratorium on its side of the border in parts of the aquifer and that stakeholders raised concern a study alone could trigger a rush to apply for permits.
Proponents included local ranchers and conservation district representatives who said flowing artesian wells have lost pressure and that redrilling is expensive. Ross Salmon (Senior AG Water Rights Alliance), Jeffrey Tiberi (Montana Association of Conservation Districts), Don Steinbeiser (local rancher) and Richard Iverson (farmer/rancher and former NRCS employee) told the committee the aquifer is important for livestock and rural communities and supported a study and, in many cases, a temporary hold.
Informational witnesses included John Metesh (State Geologist, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology) and Anna Pakenham Stevenson (DNRC water division administrator). Pakenham Stevenson told the committee DNRC participated in drafting amendments and that notice and exemption details matter; she said if the committee intends a mandatory pause a "shall" accomplishes that goal and the MBMG study would provide the underlying data the department needs to analyze impacts. Committee members asked about affected subdivisions that need redundant wells, the potential for casing failures in old wells to reduce pressure, and whether a temporary pause could harm needed public water-system work. Well-drillers' representatives and local stakeholders urged including carve-outs or careful language to avoid unintended impacts on needed backup wells.
Representative Teal closed by saying she would work with the committee on whether to retain the temporary pause or convert the bill to a study-only measure; she emphasized the intent was neither to deny necessary small exempt wells nor to block legitimate industrial water uses but to ensure longer-term protection for agriculture and communities while acquiring better data.
