Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA)

Since 1971 The Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) has been Montana's bedrock environmental law. In its simplest terms, MEPA institutes a "look before you leap" policy by requiring state agencies to consider the environmental, social, 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. MEPA has resulted in State agencies making better decisions based on community concerns for 36 years.

The MEPA process is often the only opportunity the public has to provide input on state agency decisions. Air quality and water quality laws are very limited in scope. MEPA is often the only time that State agencies consider the broad array of impacts a project could have on such things as cultural resources, fish and wildlife, or community safety. Such community issues often involve consideration of traffic and safety issues, like what time of day large trucks can drive by a school or whether it is necessary to provide fencing in between a playground and a rail yard, or whether a road should be paved to keep the dust down for area residents. MEPA gives a community the ability to provide input into decision making and help resolve issues before they become a problem. No other law allows consideration of such issues.

Learn more - Montana Environmental Information Center, http://meic.org/enviro_policy/mepa