Environment (Air Quality)

This bill directs the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to create rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions to protect public health, safety, welfare, and the environment. It expands the department's existing authority to regulate air pollutants by explicitly requiring it to develop emission limits while exempting certain agricultural and forestry activities from new permitting requirements. The legislation also allows the department to require access to emissions-related records and establish fees for permits and applications. These changes apply to the state environmental agency and any entities subject to its air quality regulations, with specific carve-outs for short-term agricultural and forestry operations.

This bill declares that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has full authority over air quality, water quality, and emissions standards for existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units within the state. It designates the department as the sole oversight and permitting authority for coal, natural gas, and oil power plants currently operating in Montana, while asserting that federal agencies lack authority to regulate these facilities without significant economic investment from owners and ratepayers. The legislation includes a contingency clause that would void the bill if the federal Environmental Protection Agency repeals specific rules from May 2024, and it takes effect immediately upon passage and approval.

This Montana joint resolution (LC 2199) urges the U.S. President, Agriculture Secretary, Forest Service Chief, and Congress to modify federal wildfire and land management policies. It requests five key changes: requiring aggressive initial fire attacks to protect communities and air quality; keeping forest roads open for access and suppression; adding wildfire smoke to EPA air quality standards; ending "let it burn" policies that avoid environmental reviews; and enabling state/local involvement in federal land management. The resolution directly affects Montana communities facing wildfire risks, federal land management practices, and air quality standards. As a non-binding resolution, it seeks to address concerns about current federal approaches that contribute to larger fires, hazardous smoke, and high suppression costs.

HJ 35 is a joint resolution from the Montana Legislature urging federal officials to modify current federal land management and wildfire policies. It calls for an aggressive initial attack on wildfires across all federal lands and for federal forest roads to remain open for access and fire suppression. The resolution also recommends that EPA air quality standards include wildfire smoke and that federal "let it burn" policies be reversed, ensuring NEPA processes are followed. Finally, it advocates for increased involvement of state and local governments and stakeholder groups in federal fire management decisions to protect Montana's communities.