Committee concurs in bill to extend Natural Resources Operations backfill to 2029

Senator Josh Kaczmeier on behalf of Senate District 13 asked the House Natural Resources Committee to extend a temporary general-fund backfill for the Natural Resources Operations (NRO) account so the department can continue mine permitting and oversight. Kaczmeier said Senate Bill 71 would move the sunset for the general-fund transfer from 2027 to 2029 and provide near-term budget stability for permitting staff and program continuity.

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Air, Energy and Mining Division Administrator Dan Walsh testified that DEQ’s mining bureau relies on NRO funding to implement the Metal Mine Reclamation Act, the Montana Strip and Underground Mine Reclamation Act, and the Open Cut Mining Act. Walsh gave an agency estimate of annual reliance on NRO funds as approximately $1,200,000 for hard-rock mining work, about $800,000 for open-cut mining, and roughly $200,000 for the coal program. He told the committee the account has historically required periodic general-fund backfill and that SB 71 would extend the current statutory backfill through fiscal 2029.

Erin Weisgerber, deputy director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, said DNRC receives about $1,100,000 from the NRO account to support programs including the Conservation and Resource Development Division’s Resource Development Bureau, the Montana Invasive Species Council, the Western Montana Conservation Commission, urban and community forestry, and technical water-rights work. Weisgerber warned that without an extension those programs could lack immediate funding.

Walsh and the sponsor said DEQ is pursuing long-term alternatives, including fee programs for open-cut operations and proposed hard-rock mining fees (House Bill 69) to reduce reliance on general-fund backfill; they emphasized those fee structures are still under development and negotiations with stakeholders are ongoing.

The committee did not hear opposition testimony. After questions from members about why the backfill is not made permanent and how fee schedules will be set, the committee moved to executive action. A motion to concur in Senate Bill 71 passed on a voice vote; several proxies were recorded and the chair announced the ayes had it. Representative France agreed to carry the bill.

The committee record shows SB 71 is intended as a temporary extension to allow DEQ and other agencies time to finalize fee authorities and implementation details; the measure does not itself establish new fees or regulatory changes.