MCV Legislative Hotlist: February 10, 2009
Submitted by Sarah Cobler on February 10, 2009 - 12:00pm
Dear Conservation Voter and Environmental Ally,
Look out- here comes a fury of legislation. Get ready to email and call a few legislators, if you would.
The capital is on full tilt this week. Non-appropriation bills must be transmitted to the other house (passed out of committee and the floor) by Thursday, Feb. 26th. Unfortunately, this means all of the anti-environment bills waiting in the shadows are surfacing. Help us prevent them from seeing the light of day.
Click here to see our weekly hotlists, the schedule of relevant conservation bills for the week in each chamber.
The Good:
Next week, on February 19th, House Local Government will hear the Big Sky Rivers Act, HB 455. This is a very, very good bill, and would represent a tremendous conservation victory.
The Big Sky Rivers Act would empower local governments to create development buffers for Montana's "Big 10" rivers, including the Clark Fork, Blackfoot, Bitterroot, Flathead, Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson, Smith, Missouri (from Three Forks to the Cascade/Choteau County line), and the Yellowstone (from the State boundary to the Rosebud/Treasure County line).
This proposed legislation creates 250-foot wide "streamside management areas" to minimize erosion, protect private property from flood damage, and maintain water quality on the "Big 10" Big Sky rivers. The construction of new homes or commercial buildings would be prohibited within the streamside management areas, which would include maintaining a 150-foot buffer of riparian vegetation to safeguard clean water and wildlife.
We're grateful to Rep. Michele Reinhart for sponsoring the bill, and are especially grateful for the bipartisan co-sponsors, including Rep. Gary MacLaren (R-Victor), Rep. John Fleming (D-St. Ignatius), chair of the appropriations committee Rep. Jon Sesso (D-Butte), Rep. Arlene Becker (D-Billings), Senator Jim Shockley (R-Victor), Senator John Bruggeman (R-Polson), Senator Ryan Zinke (R-Whitefish), Senator Bob Hawks (D-Bozeman), and Senator Trudi Schmidt (D-Great Falls).
Please help pass the Big Sky Rivers Act!
- Call 406.444.4800 and ask members of the House Local Government committee to support HB 455, the Big Sky Rivers Act.
- Email members of the committee and ask for their support.
- Write a letter of support that we will deliver to the committee in person. Interested? Please contact me at sarah@mtvoters.org.
The Bad: Eliminating stream access across Montana
Seriously? The legislature thinks eliminating our right to fish and boat on public waterways is acceptable?
Well, maybe. SB 314 (sponsored by Sen. Laible (R-Darby) essentially overturns the Mitchell Slough decision, wherein the Montana Supreme Court found that this body of water is "natural," exited prior to irrigation, and is therefore subject to Montana's stream access law.
That's not all. The bill actually eliminates access to hundreds of miles of streams across the state.
Generally speaking, Montanans strongly value our right to access public waterways. It is one of the many things that make our state special and unique.
This bill goes beyond its quarrel with the Mitchell Slough decision, saying that if irrigation water is diverted from a stream, that stream is no longer "natural" and not subject to stream access. This law would allow landowners to lock out fishermen and boaters by declaring that stretch of river through their property as "un-natural."
The bill was scheduled for hearing this week in Senate Natural Resources, but the hearing was canceled.
Keep an eye on the hearing schedule.
Meanwhile, tell members of the Senate Natural Resources committee how you feel about eliminating stream access on hundreds of miles of rivers and streams across the state.
- Call 406.444.4800 and ask members of the Senate Natural Resources committee to oppose SB 314, the rollback of our stream access law
- Email members of the committee and ask for their opposition.
The downright, dirty rotten ugly:
Some legislators want to eliminate citizens' ability to appeal permits issued for industrial development, including air, water or energy development.
HB 483, sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones (R-Conrad) eliminates public oversight of state decisions on air and water permits and Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA) certificates. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) would no longer be accountable to the public but instead would only be accountable to the company requesting the permit.
We think this is dead wrong.
Government sometimes makes mistakes.
The state permitted the failed and dangerous Zortman-Landsky cyanide heap leach gold mine countless times, and it resulted in environmental disasters, cultural degradation and a public health fiasco. What about Libby? Shouldn't neighbors of industrial development have the ability to appeal a permit if they think the facility is breaking the law?
In past sessions, the legislature forced permits to be issued more quickly, and with increasing pressures on the department and fewer staff to review and grant them.
Now, industry wants to eliminate the public's role in reviewing permits too.
Here's the kicker- Montana has the most efficient permitting system in the nation. The DEQ appeals process is not broken. Last fiscal year DEQ issued 589 air pollution permits, 808 water pollution permits, and 2,219 solid and hazardous waste permits. Out of the 3,616 permits issued by DEQ in 2008, only 3 permits were appealed. ALL three appeals in 2008 were filed by the facility seeking the permit.
Please speak up on this one.
- Call 406.444.4800 and ask members of the House Energy Committee (FRET) to oppose HB 483, the bill that cuts the public out of industrial permitting and siting decisions.
- Email members of the committee and ask them to oppose HB 483
- Write a letter o we will deliver to the committee in person. Interested? Please contact me at sarah@mtvoters.org.
As always, thanks for reading, and special thanks for participating.
Sarah Cobler, Program Director
Montana Conservation Voters
406.581.2284
PS- Have you called or emailed your legislator? Tell me about your experience! We want to know if activists find this information useful.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| househotlist20090210.pdf | 114.47 KB |
| senatehotlist20090210.pdf | 95.73 KB |
