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Contested bill would narrow greenhouse‑gas analysis in MEPA; proponents and opponents spar over scope
Summary
Senate Bill 221 would require greenhouse‑gas assessments for certain fossil‑fuel activities and direct DEQ to write guidance setting scope and methods for those analyses, a response to the Montana Supreme Court’s Held decision.
Senate Bill 221 would establish statutory sideboards for greenhouse‑gas (GHG) assessments in Montana environmental review under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), limit the kinds of activities that trigger those assessments and require the Department of Environmental Quality to draft guidance for agencies.
DEQ Director Sonya Nowakowski opened the hearing saying the agency supported the bill as a response to the Montana Supreme Court’s Held decision and described four changes the bill would make: define greenhouse gases, require GHG assessments for certain fossil‑fuel activities, limit the scope of the impacts agencies must assess to those "approximately caused," and direct DEQ to prepare guidance for state agencies on methods and thresholds.
"DEQ stands in full support," Nowakowski said, arguing the bill would provide predictability and clarify when an assessment is required. Industry, trade and labor groups — including representatives of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the…
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