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Lawmakers debate fixing 'gray area' between streamside management and 3‑10 permits
Summary
Senate Bill 472 would adjust penalties and clarify conservation districts' authority under Montana’s 3‑10 permitting process and its interaction with streamside management zone (SMZ) rules; proponents and conservation districts offered conflicting views on an amendment addressing logging activities.
Senate Bill 472, presented to the House Natural Resources Committee, would change enforcement and penalty language in Montana’s Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act (commonly referenced in testimony as the “3‑10” permit process) and seeks to clarify overlap with the Streamside Management Zone (SMZ) law.
Sponsor Senator Denley Loge described the bill’s purpose as giving conservation districts more enforcement tools and updating fines that date from the 1970s; he said higher fines are intended to deter repeated or large‑scale unauthorized modification of stream banks. “The intent of the bill is to try and preserve our stream banks and and…
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