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Bill would direct study of Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer, propose optional two-year pause on large permits
Summary
Rep. Morgan Thiel proposed HB 935 to fund a $50,000 study by MBMG of the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer and to place an optional two-year pause on new large water permits while data are collected; many eastern Montana ranchers and conservation districts supported the study and temporary pause.
Representative Morgan Thiel opened a hearing on House Bill 935, describing constituent concern about falling water levels in the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer that underlies parts of eastern Montana. Thiel said the aquifer is large, deep (100–1,600 feet depending on location) and that recent data are decades old; he proposed directing the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG) to study the basin and report to the water policy interim committee, with a $50,000 appropriation to fund initial work.
Thiel explained there are two linked options in his package: a study and an…
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