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Big Sky Connection - The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has denied a petition on Big Hole River contaminants based on a state law the federal Environmental Protection Agency disapproved of. Conservation groups are asking the EPA to weigh in. Comments by Guy Alsentzer [ALL-sense-er], executive director, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper.
Kathleen Shannon
April 23, 2025 - Montana officials have denied a petition asking the state to designate the Big Hole River as "impaired" by pollution.
Two conservation groups collected data over five years and found levels of nutrients in the Big Hole River exceeded thresholds, in some parts, by twofold or threefold, which could harm aquatic habitats, contaminate drinking water and affect fishing and other tourism business. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality said the petitioners used the wrong metrics.
Guy Alsentzer, executive director of the conservation group Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, said it is an example of politics "undermining good science."
"At minimum, we feel that the state owes us a written explanation, with some detail, about exactly why it believes it can deny a petition that has clearly satisfied the scientific basis for developing a pollution cleanup plan," Alsentzer explained.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality argued the petition's data does not abide by a state law passed in 2021. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, however, officially disapproved of the law.
Alsentzer has requested the EPA weigh in, adding once high nutrient levels are proven, it is up to the Department of Environmental Quality to determine the causes.
"In the case of most Montana rivers, it's going to be a combination of human land use patterns," Alsentzer noted. "Sometimes it's subdivisions, sometimes it's septics, sometimes it's a municipality and sometimes it's farm fields or big cattle feeding lots."
Alsentzer stressed keeping waterways healthy is both "good common sense" and "good economics." According to the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Beaverhead County's hunting and angling economy adds an estimated $74 million to area households annually and $167 million to businesses and organizations.
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PNS - Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - White House defends Secretary Hegseth amid media scrutiny, federal judges block efforts to dismantle U.S. international broadcasters, and major restructuring hits the State Department and rural programs.
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PNS - Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - Marco Rubio unveils massive State Dept. overhaul with reductions of staff and bureaus; Visas revoked, status changed for international students in TX; Alaska lawmakers work to improve in-school mental health care; Montana DEQ denies Big Hole River decision, cites law opposed by EPA; Indiana moves to regulate legal THC sales and branding.
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