Conservation Groups Sue Montana DEQ Over Permit Revision Processes

Bull Mountain Land Alliance and the Northern Plains Resource Council filed a lawsuit in Lewis and Clark County District Court on November 20, 2025, charging that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has routinely classified permit changes as minor and approved them without public notice or a comment process. The groups contend that this practice allows agency officials to make hundreds of revisions to mining permits affecting residents and the environment while avoiding the public scrutiny required by the state constitution.

At the center of the case is how DEQ distinguishes major revisions from minor ones. DEQ defines major revisions as those that result in a significant change in the post mining drainage plan, a change in the post mining land use, a significant change in the bonding level within the permitted area, or a change that may affect the reclaimability of an area or the hydrologic balance on or off the permitted area. Major changes trigger publication in a newspaper for four consecutive weeks and a 30 day public comment period after the final notice. The agency also provides notice of the action, identifies where documents can be inspected, and allows comments to be submitted formally or informally when it treats a revision as major.

The lawsuit asserts that there is no public process required for the revisions that DEQ calls minor, and that DEQ has erected a vague regulatory scheme that permits officials to modify mining plans without timely public disclosure. The suit argues that this practice violates constitutional guarantees of the right to know and the right to participate in government. It also invokes Montana’s constitutional requirement of a clean and healthful environment for current and future generations. The legal filing states, “(DEQ’s) regulations authorizing revisions to permits with no notice or opportunity to be heard are unlawful under Montana’s public participation statutes and infringe on fundamental constitutional rights by depriving plaintiffs and their members of adequate notice of permit revision applications, agency deliberations and any meaningful opportunity to examine documents or participate in decisions of significant interest to them and to the broader public.”

Local residents near the Bull Mountain Mine, operated by Signal Peak Energy, told the plaintiffs that changes approved without public notice have affected springs, livestock wells and groundwater. Attorneys for the conservation groups say they tracked approximately 100 permit revisions in the past decade that bypassed public review. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the DEQ policies unlawful, to require public notice and participation for revisions, and to award attorneys fees if successful.

A ruling for the plaintiffs could require significant procedural changes at DEQ, increase public access to environmental assessments now handled as minor revisions, and alter how mining operations are regulated in Montana. The case now moves forward in Lewis and Clark County District Court, where its outcome could reshape public participation in resource permitting across the state.