The committee heard House Bill 48 to add wastewater treatment pond dams to the list of exemptions from most requirements of Montana’s Dam Safety Act.

Representative Ken Walsh, the bill sponsor, told members the change seeks to avoid duplicative regulation because wastewater ponds are already regulated under DEQ’s water and wastewater statutes and rules. He said removing overlap would reduce administrative burdens and costs for owners of municipal and public sewage systems.

DNRC water-operations interim bureau chief Doug Brugger testified in support, describing technical differences that make wastewater pond dams poor fits for the Dam Safety Act’s high‑risk design rules—e.g., much pond water is subsurface and spillway designs intended to release large volumes could cause untreated wastewater releases. Brugger said DEQ oversight "requires safe design, construction, and operations of wastewater pond dams" and the bill would preserve a minimum construction standard while avoiding duplicative permitting.

Other proponents included the Montana Petroleum Association and Trout Unlimited. No opponents appeared and no executive action was taken at the hearing.

Why it matters: the statutory change would clarify which agency’s regulatory framework governs wastewater-pond dams and is intended to reduce duplicate state permitting requirements while maintaining public-safety standards.