Committee hears wide-ranging testimony on bill to set MEPA greenhouse-gas sideboards after Held decision

Senator Greg Galt, R-Central Montana, opened a Senate Natural Resources Committee hearing on Senate Bill 221, a bill intended to respond to the Montana Supreme Court’s December 2024 decision in Held v. State of Montana by directing how agencies should assess greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).

Sponsor Galt told the committee the bill would "right size" the state’s response to the Held ruling by defining greenhouse gases, specifying when GHG assessment is required, and directing the Department of Environmental Quality to develop public guidance. "This bill provides the DEQ with the direction it needs to provide for regulatory certainty to address the court ruling," Galt said.

Sonia Nowakowski, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, testified in support, saying the bill would give agencies "reasonable sideboards" and require DEQ to prepare guidance for public comment. "Senate Bill 221 provides that direction," she said, arguing the bill would limit analysis to emissions and impacts "approximately caused by the proposed action" and focus agency resources on fossil-fuel activities most likely to generate significant GHG impacts.

Industry groups and local…