MCV Legislative Hotlist: February 17, 2009

Dear Conservation Voter,             

Its crunch time in Helena!

It's our turn to help pass an excellent bill, the Big Sky Rivers Act (HB 455, Rep. Reinhart).

Unfortunately, there's still work to do to defend current environmental laws and citizens' rights to participate in the democratic process.  You can help by calling you legislators to stop bills like SB 417, which destroys the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and HB 483, which restricts citizen access to the environmental permitting process. 

Help pass House Bill 455, the Big Sky Rivers Act

The Big Sky Rivers Act ensures that new buildings are set back a safe distance from the banks of 10 Big Sky rivers in order to protect people and property and the rivers' outstanding economic, biological and recreational values. 

The Act creates 250-foot wide "streamside management areas" on either side of designated rivers within which the construction of new homes and commercial buildings, or the installation of septic tanks and drainfields, is prohibited. It also limits the removal of riparian vegetation within 150 feet of designated rivers in order to minimize erosion and protect water quality.

All but one of the Big Sky rivers cross county lines. Because unwise riverside development in upstream counties can have profound impacts on property in downstream counties, it is appropriate for the Montana Legislature to set up a consistent system of streamside protections on these large and important rivers.

You can help pass this common sense conservation bill.

Please, call your State Representative today.  The bill is up for its first hearing in House Local Government this Thursday.  If the bill passes committee, it heads to the House floor soon thereafter.

Here's how to help:

• Find out who represents you in the House here- http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm. Enter your zipcode in the section called "find your representative."
• Call the Capitol and leave a message for your Representative at 406.444.4800 during business hours.
• Here's the message- "Please support HB 455, the Big Sky Rivers Act." Don't forget to identify yourself as a constituent.

Senator Keane wants to dismember MEPA... again

Here's your chance to help defend current environmental law.  Help us defeat Senate Bill 417, which renders the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) useless and makes a mockery of the citizen participation process.  This bill might seem familiar.  That's because last session, then Rep. Keane presented HB 610, which was killed. In SB 417's hearing last week, he promised to keep bringing this bill until it passes. 

MEPA institutes a "look before you leap" policy by requiring state agencies to consider the social, environmental, cultural and economic impacts of proposals like mines, power plants, subdivisions, and timber sales before the project is approved.  The purpose of MEPA is to foster state government decisions that are informed, accountable, open to public participation, and balanced.

SB 417 radically changes the purpose, and therefore usefulness, of MEPA.  It eliminates the ability to seek redress in court under MEPA, and declares that the environmental reviews (EA and EIS) resulting from MEPA cannot be used by the very agencies that write them to inform decisions.  Furthermore, the bill shifts the purpose of the act entirely, and insists environmental reviews are only meant to inform the legislature, wasting taxpayer money to complete now useless environmental review.

I can only begin to imagine the practical application of these revisions.  Do the agencies now mail every environmental review to every single legislator?  How much would that cost? 

Another similarly damaging proposal, HB 483 (Rep. Llew Jones R-Conrad), eliminates the ability of the public to challenge agency decisions on permits for "energy development projects."  Read this great commentary from Public Service Commissioner Gail Gutsche, PSC member John Vincent and Rep. Mike Phillips in response.  Please call your representatives for a "no" vote on HB 483. 

Obviously, if you care about public participation and a clean and healthful environment, you'd agree we must kill this bill.

Here's how to help:

• Find out who represents you in the Senate here- http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm. Enter your zipcode in the section called "find your representative."
• Call the Capitol and leave a message for your Senator at 406.444.4800 during business hours.
• Here's the message- "Please oppose SB 417, the bill that destroys the Montana Environmental Policy Act." Don't forget to identify yourself as a constituent.

Thanks so much for your help.

As always, thanks for reading.

Sarah Cobler, Program Director and Lobbyist

Montana Conservation Voters

406.581.2284

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