Big Sky Subdivision Wastewater Discharge Near Gallatin River Not Okayed by Court
Author: Guy Alsentzer, Executive Director Upper Missouri Water Keeper
Big Sky Subdivision Wastewater Discharge Near Gallatin River Not Okayed by Court
Guy Alsentzer
Executive Director Upper Missouri Water Keeper
At the end of December, the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District Court in Gallatin County ruled in favor of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, declaring DEQ’s approval of new wastewater discharges from the Quarry subdivision in Big Sky unlawful.
The judge found that DEQ acted arbitrarily and illegally by rubber-stamping the project without taking a legally required “hard look” at cumulative water quality impacts on the Gallatin River, despite acknowledging uncertainty about the causes of ongoing algal blooms causing the impairment status of the river.
This decision reinforces that Montana law requires transparency, sound science, and accountability before approving new sources of pollution. If Phase 1 of the Quarry Project is to move forward, DEQ must redo its review and meaningfully analyze cumulative nutrient impacts on the Gallatin.
This Order also reinforces the value in Upper Missouri Waterkeeper’s systematic impact litigation in defense of the Gallatin River since 2015: challenging development that refuses to pay it forward and solve the negative ecological impacts that septic pollution raises for sensitive waterways; advocating for comprehensive, proven regional wastewater solutions in Big Sky utilizing best available wastewater treatment; and securing vital river impairment determinations critical to cleaning-up and restoring waterway health.
This is a major win not only for the Gallatin River and the Big Sky community, but for rivers statewide facing pressure from rapid growth, sending a clear message that DEQ cannot ignore the impacts of development pressure on Montana’s waterways.
Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new rule that would gut the Clean Water Act. This rule is an extreme and unnecessary attack on clean water, going far beyond what the Supreme Court required to strip protections from the rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and other waters that are vital to our health, economy, and communities.
This proposal hands corporate polluters a license to degrade our country’s waterways. We need the EPA to listen to the overwhelming majority of Americans who want stronger protections for our water, not weaker ones.
Here’s what’s at stake:
• It’s a giveaway to polluters: EPA already revised its rules last year to comply with the new Supreme Court’s Sackett decision, which dramatically reduced clean water protections. This new proposal is a political choice to gut nearly every category of protected water, letting polluters dump into and destroy more of our waters than at any time in the last 50 years.
• It threatens our health and safety: EPA’s own data suggests this could leave over 80% of U.S. wetlands unprotected. Wetlands filter pollution, recharge drinking water sources, and protect our communities from floods and droughts. This rule will also remove protections for rivers, streams, and lakes, risking drinking water for millions of people and rendering waters unsafe for fishing and swimming.
• It hurts our local economy and communities: Weakened protections threaten the waters our local businesses, ranches, and outdoor recreation rely on. Destroying natural infrastructure like rivers, streams, and wetlands means higher costs for water treatment, increased flooding, and bigger bills for taxpayers.
This proposal is not consistent with the Clean Water Act. It defies science, common sense, and the will of the vast majority of Americans who want strong clean water protections. We need EPA to defend the Clean Water Act, not undermine it.
The public comment period is open now, and our voices are critical. Please take a moment to tell EPA to WITHDRAW this harmful proposal and instead protect our waterways to the fullest extent of the law before January 5.
